


Little Wonders

by she_whomustnotbenamed



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: AU, Angst, Drama, F/M, Jopper, Romance, The Parent Trap - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 16:20:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16021556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/she_whomustnotbenamed/pseuds/she_whomustnotbenamed
Summary: Estranged parents. Identical girls. Summer camp…and one big mystery.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My dear friend @scullys-shoulder-pads requested a Stranger Things/Parent Trap fic. This is for her. And hopefully some of you will enjoy it too. 
> 
> It's AU, but I've tried to keep as much as the show as similar as possible. Most of the characters will appear (though maybe not in exactly the same form as they are in the show) and I've tried to keep the timeline semi-accurate as well. 
> 
> This is NOT just a rehash of The Parent Trap movie. I promise. It's also not full of Disney fluff. If you've read my other fics...you know that I'm obsessed with angst. This is gonna be a ride. An angst filled Jopper journey. I'll be posting it three chapters at a time, because they are meant to be read together. I've got a bunch written, so it shouldn't take me too long to update!

**1983**

_ The wind swirled around the yard, carrying colorful autumn leaves with it. Jane, just shy of her second birthday, was usually curious about the world around her. However, in this moment, the falling leaves didn’t hold her attention for very long. Instead, her big brown eyes were drawn to the gut wrenching sobs coming from her mother. Trapped in her Playpen, on the porch, she could do nothing but press her face against the hard side rail and watch. _

_ “I’m sorry, El. I’m so sorry, baby.” The words were the same, over and over, like a melancholy broken record. “I love you so much.” She wasn’t talking to Jane. She was talking to the dark haired toddler that was cradled against her chest. _

_ The front door squeaked open, revealing a tall, stubbly faced man. His expression was grim as he approached the Playpen and met her eyes. Jane smiled, big and wide, and toothy, but he didn’t smile back. Helplessly, he stared at her and then ran a hand over her dark pigtails. His mouth moved, but no sound came out.   _

_ Soon, he stepped away and turned his back to her so that he could face her mother. “Joyce. We don’t have to do this,” he said. “It’s crazy.”  _

_ At his words, Joyce cried harder. “Stop saying that! We do. We have to.” _

_ “We don’t!” _

_ “We’ve talked about this. We don’t have a choice.” Her voice rose, growing even more hysterical.  _

_ His hand moved through his sandy blond hair. “You can come with us. Both of you.” Again he looked towards Jane, but didn’t let his gaze linger. _

_ Annoyed by the lack of attention, Jane noisily banged her chubby fists against the rail, but it didn’t matter. No one paid attention to her. _

_ “No!” came Joyce’s panicked reply. Her body shook. “They’ll find me…and they’ll find El. They’ll take her away. I know it. Please believe me.” _

_ “Joyce…” her name left his lips as a desperate plea. “This is all wrong…we can’t…I can’t do this.” _

_ With no warning, Joyce gently pushed El into his arms. “Please, Hop.” At the sudden change, El began to cry and reached back for the comforting arms she had been ripped from. “Please take her, Hopper. Please. They’ll never leave her alone here.” Joyce grabbed onto El’s chubby hands and held them between her own. “I love you, baby. I love you more than anything in the world. Please forgive me.” _

_ A strangled sigh erupted from Hopper’s lips as he stepped back. With the contact broken, Joyce’s hands moved to her lips. El completely broke down as he carried her away. She kicked her tiny legs and jerked her body backwards to get out of his grasp. “Momma. Momma.” _

_ Watching the scene, Jane let out a blood curdling scream and burst into tears. She held up her arms in desperation and didn’t stop screaming until her mother picked her up. She twisted and squirmed until she could get another look at El.  _

_ “Ellieeeeee! Ellliiieeee!” Her cries were easily heard, and responded to, by El.  _

_ “Janie! Janie!” _

_ It didn’t matter though. Their screams went unanswered. El and Hopper drove away, down the long gravel driveway and then, everything went black. _

***

“Jane. Wake up. Jane...Jane!” 

With a strangled cry, Jane Byers sat up in bed. She took heaping gasps of air as she tried to process her surroundings. It took some time for her eyes to adjust to the pitch black room. The fresh Indiana spring air blew through the open window. It rattled the blinds and made her shiver in fear. Small, comforting hands patted her back, reminding her that she wasn’t alone. “Will,” she whispered. “Can…can you turn on the light?”

The boy, small for his age, scampered across the room and switched on the lamp. He made his way back to their bunk beds with a hand shielding his eyes. “Another bad dream?”

Eyes wide and wet, she nodded and reached for her favorite stuffed animal. The orange and black tiger was well loved, with faded stripes and a missing nose. She held it tight against her chest. “Yeah,” she sniffled.

Will was only 6, but acted much older. He was no stranger to his sister’s nightmares, and knew what to do. Gently, he pushed her until she slid her body to the other side of the bottom bunk so that he could climb in beside her. “Who’s Ellie?”

Jane swallowed hard. The dream didn’t feel like a dream. It felt real, and the terror hadn’t left her. She could still hear El’s cries. She could still feel a piece of herself being ripped away. “I dunno.”

“You were calling for her.”

“I know,” sighed Jane, her voice defeated. Her forehead ached and her eyelids were heavy. She wanted to sleep, but didn’t want to dream.

Will let out a worried gasp and pointed to her face. “Jane!”

Her brows furrowed in confusion, until she felt something wet slip out of her nose. She put her hand against it and when she pulled it back, it was smeared with bright red blood.

The boy instantly panicked. “I’m getting mom.”

“No!” she insisted, rather loudly. Her mother’s anguished cries were still fresh in her mind. Dropping her voice to a whisper, she came up with an excuse. “Let her sleep. She worked late.”  

“But. You’re bleeding.” 

Jane wiped her nose with her hand again, careful not to get it on the turquoise hair tie she always wore around her wrist. “I’ll be okay.” It wasn’t a lot of blood. 

Will’s hazel eyes bore into hers. He was five years younger than her, but they were close. Best friends, even. His gaze drifted up to his top bunk without longing. “I’ll stay here with you.” 

“Thanks, Will.” She managed a smile, even as her stomach twisted. A familiar feeling, one of emptiness and sorrow, nestled behind her ribs. How was it possible to feel so alone, even when she wasn’t? Still, she was grateful for her brother. She snuggled down under the covers and he did the same. 

***

         Hundreds of miles away, in New York City, a strong gust of wind blew in from the open window. It startled El Hopper out of a horrible dream. The lights were on in her bedroom, and her brown eyes sought out her best friend’s blue ones. “What happened, Sara?” 

Wrapped in a sleeping bag on the floor, Sara sat up. “You were talking in your sleep again. I tried to wake you up…” 

El shivered and climbed out of bed to shut the window. Ten stories below, the busy city streets were full of life, but she was lost in the images from her dream. Variations of this dream had plagued her forever, but tonight...tonight it was different. Tonight...it felt real. 

“What was I saying?” 

“Janie.” Sara’s blond hair was sticking up in all directions. She smoothed it down before shooting her friend a sympathetic look. “Just Janie. Over and over.” 

El got back into bed. Her fingers slid beneath her pillow to make sure that her favorite stuffed bear was still hidden safely away. Sara wouldn’t tease her for having it, but stuffed animals were for kids, and El wasn’t kid. She was six months shy of her twelfth birthday. 

“I think...I think it was my mom, in my dream.” 

“Is her name Janie?” 

El’s mind was racing. She shook her head. “Her name’s Joyce.” 

Sara’s brows furrowed. “Then, who’s Janie?” 

Finally understanding, after all this time, El responded with an air of confidence. “My sister.” 

Intrigued, Sara sat up straighter. “I didn’t know you had a sister.” 

“Neither did I,” whispered El. 

The girls shared a wide eyed look until a knock on the door interrupted them. The door opened a few seconds later and her father, Jim Hopper, stepped in. 

“Hey. What’d we talk about? It’s a school night, remember?” Just off a long shift, he was still dressed in his blue police uniform. He surveyed the room before moving towards the bed. “The deal was, no more babysitter, so long as you get to bed on time.” 

“I had a bad dream.” 

His lips curled in amusement. “A bad dream huh? That’s a new one.” 

“I did!” El insisted. 

“Uh, huh,” he chuckled. Then, his face turned serious. “In bed by 9. That’s the rule.” With a dramatic huff, El slid down under her covers. “Sara’s parents aren’t gonna let her over on school nights if you can’t follow the rules.” Wisely, Sara also laid down and kept quiet. 

El gave up arguing.“Okay.” Positive that she could get more information in her dreams, she was eager to get back to sleep. Before she could, Hopper reached under her pillow, pulled out her stuffed bear, and tucked it under her arm. “Dad!” 

“It’ll keep the bad dreams away.” 

El rolled her eyes, but didn’t pull the bear away. “Love you.” 

Affectionately, he messed with her hair. “Love you too, kid.”

El swatted his hand away and as she did so, her fingers grazed across the turquoise hair tie that never left his wrist. She had so many questions, and she was determined to get answers.


	2. Chapter 2

Sleepily, Jane slid her eggs back and forth across her plate. Every so often, Will shot her worried glances from across the table and she shrugged them off.  
  
“Hurry up and eat you guys, you’re gonna be late,” Jonathan said. The sixteen year old plopped a plate of toast down in front of them with little fan fair.  
  
Normally, Jane was in a rush to get to school, but today wasn’t a normal day. Her nightmare was still fresh in her mind and she had barely slept because of it.  
  
“Jesus, where are they?” came Joyce’s flustered question. Dressed in her work uniform, she fluttered around the house like a baby bird who couldn’t figure out how to fly. “Nevermind, I found them.” She dangled her keys proudly in the air. “Jonathan, can you take them to school? I cannot be late again.”  
  
The teenager sat down at the table. His shaggy hair slid into his eyes until he eventually brushed it away. “Sure, but can you tell them to eat?”  
  
Joyce studied her children in exasperation. “Come on you two. Chop, chop.” In a rush, she kissed Will on the forehead and then ran her hand over Jane’s long hair. “I love you guys. So much. I’ll be home early tonight, I promise.”  
  
Jane’s face paled as she looked up at her mother. Joyce’s pleading cries from the dream, played over and over in her head and she felt suddenly dizzy. “I’m so sorry, baby. I love you so much.”  
  
Joyce didn’t miss a beat. “Sweetheart, are you feeling okay?” Suddenly forgetting that she was running late, she ran her hand over Jane’s forehead and then over her cheeks. “Do you feel sick? You don’t look too good.”  
  
“I’m just tired.” Jane locked eyes with Will, silently telling him to keep his mouth shut before adding, “I’m okay.”  
  
Joyce frowned. “Hmm, maybe you’re coming down with something. Why don’t you stay home today?” At her daughter’s incredulous scoff, she held up her hands. “I know, I know. You wanna win perfect attendance again this year. I’m just saying...if you’re not feeling well, you should stay home.”  
  
Jonathan was busy inhaling his food, but stopped to jump into the conversation. “As if winning this year will matter. What’s this like, the 6th year in a row?”  
  
Jane scowled. “No. Only the fifth. I missed 4 days in Kindergarten.”  
  
“You had the chickenpox,” reminded Joyce.  
  
Jonathan shrugged. “Guess I wasn’t around for that part.”  
  
With a sympathetic frown, Joyce made her way towards him. “No, but we love you just the same.” She squeezed his shoulders with genuine affection.  
  
He didn’t pull away. “Go, mom. You’re gonna be late.” She was his step-mother, not his real mother, but he had stopped making that distinction a long time ago.  
  
Joyce held up her hands again. “Okay, okay. I’m going. Jane, I want you to go right to the nurse if you don’t feel well, okay?”  
  
Jane could do nothing but nod. Desperately, she studied her mother’s features, trying to see similarities between her, and her dream. She couldn’t escape the dreadful feeling that her dream...hadn’t been a dream at all. But how could that be? If it wasn’t a dream, what was it?  
  
“Baby, promise me you’ll go to the nurse, okay? Have them call me at the store. You promise?”  
  
“I will.” They were all good at easing Joyce’s anxiety. It was a skill they had learned out of necessity. “I promise, mom.”  
  
“Go,” advised Jonathan. “She’ll be fine.”  
  
“I will,” insisted Jane. “You worry too much.”  
  
With a deep breath, Joyce nodded, as if she were talking herself into it. Then, she sped out of the kitchen and called out, “I love you guys...more than anything in the world.”  
  
The statement hit Jane like a splash of cold water. Her fork slid out of her hand and clanked loudly onto her plate. Her throat tightened, threatening to close up as a sudden image of the toddler from her dream popped into her mind. “Ellie…”  
  
“Who’s Ellie?” Jonathan wondered.  
  
Instead of looking at him, Jane looked towards Will. “Noth...nothing,” she stuttered. “I think I’m gonna stay home.”  
  
Jonathan’s eyes brightened in amusement. “You are?”  
  
“Yeah…I think I’m sick.” The lie was easy to tell and easy for him to believe.  
  
“Don’t worry about missing school. I doubt anybody cool in this world ever had perfect attendance anyway.”  
  
With a forced smile, she got up from the table. She did care about attendance. In fact, she loved school, but as her head began to pound, she realized that she had no choice but to go lie down.  
  
***  
_Jane wasn’t sure how old she was, but she was young, really young. She sat on the familiar man’s lap and ran her tiny hands over his scratchy stubble. He snatched her hands with his lips and gobbled them up. Hearty chuckles erupted from deep within her chest._  
  
_“The troll’s gonna get you. He’s gonna eat up the princess with his troll teeth…”_  
  
_She pulled her hands away, and her laughter stopped, as she stared into his blue eyes. She didn’t feel scared, though. He wouldn’t hurt her, so she moved her hands back and watched as a smile lit up his face._  
  
_“The troll’s got you! He’s gonna have some princess stew!” His lips snatched her fingers again...and again, she laughed, and kept on laughing…for what seemed like an eternity._  
  
_Jane was still laughing when her mother’s voice seemed to surround her on all sides. Though she couldn’t see her, she could feel her presence, angry and looming._  
  
_“Hopper! You’ve got her all riled up now. She’ll never get to sleep.”_  
  
_“She’ll sleep fine.”_  
  
_“I can’t believe you. How many times do we have to go over this?”_  
  
_The game stopped quickly as the man’s face fell. “I haven’t seen her all day, Joyce.” His tone was harsh, the complete opposite of before._  
  
_Why did he stop? They were having so much fun. In confusion, Jane moved her hands back to his face, but his attention was now focused on something else._  
  
_“And that’s my fault?” snapped Joyce._  
  
_“I’m not sayin’ that…”_  
  
_“I’m with them all day, Hopper. All day. You can’t just come home whenever you want and play Mr. Good cop.”_  
  
_Suddenly, Jane was scooped up into his arms as he stood up. Her mother’s face swam into her line of sight, but only briefly._  
  
_“Whenever I want? Shit, Joyce! You think I like this? You think I wanna work my ass off for pennies?”_  
  
_“I’m sorry that you’re stuck here. I’m sorry that your family makes you so unhappy!”_  
  
_“Don’t put words in my mouth, dammit!”_  
  
_His chest vibrated as his voice rose and rose. The adults continued their argument and Jane was jostled back and forth as he moved around. When his body tensed and his grip tightened, she grew scared and let out a wail as she buried herself into his chest. Her cries grew more forceful and she shut her eyes tight, hoping for the noise to stop._  
  
_Out of nowhere, a door opened and then slammed shut and soon, the sticky summer air assaulted her senses. Crickets chirped and locusts buzzed around her. She was outside._  
  
_“Hey kid, hey...it’s okay…” His tone went soft, almost...back to normal._  
  
_Cautiously, she lifted her face up, tears dripping down her large cheeks. “Dadda?”_  
  
_He sighed and his body relaxed. Soon, they were sitting down again, rocking back and forth. “I’m sorry I yelled like that.”_  
  
_Warily, Jane stared at him, studying his furrowed brows and the somber lines around his lips. What was he talking about? She didn’t understand. “Dadda.”_  
  
_“Yeah, I’m your dad...and I’m a real shit one sometimes.” He kissed her forehead, and tried to pull her head towards his chest, but she wanted no parts of that._  
  
_Bringing her fingers to his lips, she waited for him to resume their game. “Trolllllll?”_  
  
_His eyes sparkled as he opened his mouth to snatch her fingers and their game quickly resumed._  
  
_“I love you, Jane. And I’m gonna be better. I promise.”_  
  
_“Dadda. Dadda.”_  
  
***  
Jane woke up in her bed in a complete panic. Tangled in her sheets, she haphazardly kicked them off of her body and then stood up. Breathing hard and fast, she glanced around her bedroom in a daze, until she remembered that she wasn’t at school.  
  
She caught a glimpse of herself in the vanity mirror and did a double take when she realized that her face was wet with tears. Like her last one, this dream was still vivid in her mind. But this time, this time she knew that the man was her father.  
  
“Hopper.” She tested the name quietly, as if she would get in trouble for saying it out loud. Still looking in the mirror, she grazed her lips with her fingers as she remembered their game. “Dad.” Her tears kept coming.  
  
***  
She spent most of the day battling sleep. Each time she fell asleep, images of her father invaded her mind. Each time she woke up, she was hit with a new emotion for the man she had lost.  
  
Joyce found her later, crying in her bed, and instantly went on alert. “Baby, why didn’t you call me? Are you in pain? Does something hurt?” She grew desperate when Jane refused to answer. “Talk to me. Please. Tell me what’s going on.”  
  
Realizing that she had no choice, Jane sat up. “I’ve been having bad dreams.”  
  
Joyce was taken aback by her response. “What...what kinda bad dreams?”  
  
“I don’t remember,” lied Jane. She wasn’t sure what possessed her to lie.  
  
“Sweetheart...you can talk to me. About anything.” Rather desperate, Joyce wrapped her arms around her. “You know that, right?”  
  
Guilt overwhelmed her, but still, something kept her from telling the truth. Her mother’s anxious fingers rubbed over her back. “I know.”  
  
Joyce nodded and pulled away. “Good. I know I’ve been working too much and I haven’t been here for you…”  
  
“Mom, no.” Jane shook her head. “It’s not you.”  
  
“Then what, Jane? What is it?” Joyce’s brown eyes grew wet as her face fell. She was toeing the line between pushing her to speak and letting it go. It wasn’t an easy line to toe.  
  
Jane had a sudden idea and before thinking it fully over, she blurted, “Whose Hopper?”  
  
Silence feel between them as her mother’s mouth fell open in shock. Her body straightened up, a knee jerk reaction to hearing that name. “What?”  
  
“You said we could talk…so can we talk about that?”  
  
Joyce wasn’t good at hiding her emotions. Ever. Her face revealed five at once as she eyed up her daughter. “Where…where’d you hear that name?”  
  
“I don’t know.”  
  
This time, she didn’t try to hide her disbelief. “Jane.”  
  
Confused by the sudden force in her tone, Jane’s eyes widened. “Mom, who is he?”  
  
Joyce shut her eyes and when she opened them, she somberly smiled. “He’s your dad.”  
  
Though she already knew that, hearing it said out loud gave her goosebumps. “I thought his name was Jim?”  
  
“It is. Jim Hopper.” Her voice broke as she added, “Everyone called him Hopper. He hated being called Jim.” Joyce’s legs felt weak. If she wasn’t already sitting down, she was sure that she would collapse.  
  
“You never told me what happened to him.”  
  
“He left,” her response was barely audible.  
  
Joyce’s body was shaking and she was staring off into space, as if trapped in a painful memory. Jane put a steadying hand on hers and felt a sudden jolt of electricity as she did so. Out of nowhere, her mother’s cries from her dream echoed around her. “Please Hop. Please take her.” A violent shake of her head sent the cries away and the motion jolted Joyce back to reality, too.  
  
“I’m sorry, baby.” Wherever Joyce’s mind had been, she had shaken it off a lot easier than Jane.  
  
Overwhelmed at what was happening to her, she tried to slow her mind down. “He left, like Lonnie?”  
  
Joyce looked away and let out a disgusted groan. “No. Not like that, at all.”  
  
“Then why’d he leave?”  
  
“It’s complicated,” sighed Joyce. On the verge of tears, she continued, “he couldn't stay here. Someday I can explain it better, but…he loved you so much. I know he did.”  
  
Mother and daughter stared at each other with the same tearful expression until Joyce’s lip quivered and she pulled Jane back into a hug.  
  
“I know he did, too,” she whispered, but it came out as a strangled cry that Joyce couldn’t make out.  
  
***  
“Will?” Jane said, into the darkness. “You awake?”  
  
A rustling sound came from above her and then, like a ghost, her brother’s head popped down over the edge of his bed. “Yeah.”  
  
The moon cast just enough glow to make out his face. “I had another dream today.”  
  
“A nightmare?”  
  
“No...this one was...it was a good one. Sort of.” Jane turned on her side so that she could face him, moving her stuffed tiger so that it was tighter against her chest. “My dad was in it.”  
  
Will’s forehead crinkled. “Do you know him?”  
  
Sometimes, Jane forgot that he was only six. He wasn’t like other kids his age. Sometimes, she thought he was even smarter than her. “No. He left when I was little.”  
  
“Like my dad?”  
  
Joyce had insisted that it wasn’t the same, but Jane didn’t understand how it was different. Hopper and Lonnie were both gone. Her father had left her, and Jonathan and Will’s father had left them. “I think so,” she admitted. Shame crept across her face. The man in her dream didn’t seem like a man who would leave his family, even if told to do so.  
  
Will sighed. “That sucks.”  
  
The pair went silent and Will was about to turn back to his bed when Jane’s statement stopped him. “I don’t think my dreams are dreams.”  
  
“What are they?” His eyes grew wide.  
  
“Will...I think...I think they’re memories. I think my dad left...and took my sister with him and I just didn’t remember until now.”  
  
The boy easily connected the dots. “Ellie?”  
  
“Yeah, Ellie”  
  
The wooden bedframe creaked and shook as Will climbed down so that he could sit on her bed. His face was lit up with the innocence of childhood. “That’s so cool. You’re like a comic book.”  
  
Jane quickly hushed him. “You can’t tell anyone! Not even Jonathan…or mom,” she pleaded. “If these really are memories, then that means she’s been lying to me, all this time...and we need to find out why.” She was determined to get answers, and if she couldn’t get them from her mother, then she would have to find another way.  
  
“You mean, I get to help?”  
  
His excitement was contagious. Jane smiled for the first time all day. “Yeah, it’ll be our new mission.” The pair had planned missions over the years, none as serious as this.  
  
Happy to be included, Will jumped up and ran to his desk. “I’ll draw it out.”  
  
Jane laughed and then shook her head. “No. We’ll start tomorrow. It’s too late, now.” Unlike the night before, she wasn’t afraid to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

  
El was supposed to be doing homework after school, but instead, she was hunting through old, dusty boxes in her father’s closet. School, and the tedious work that went with it, never held her interest for long.  
  
Reluctant to participate in the rule breaking, Sara stood back and watched with a worried frown. “Are you allowed to go through your dad’s stuff?”  
  
“He won’t even know,” came El’s flippant response.  
  
Sara glanced towards the open bedroom door. “What if he comes home?”  
  
“He’s never home this early.” El let out a groan. “Help me get this box.” All the boxes were labeled. She bypassed the ones labeled Vietnam, and NYPD and set her sights on the one labeled Hawkins. It was the largest one, and stuck so far back in the closet that she had to practically climb all the way in to reach it. “Sara! Come on!”  
  
Her friend whined, but eventually joined her. When they emerged, struggling to carry the box, they were both covered in dust and reeked like moth balls. “Gross,” said Sara. “Why’d you have to get this one?” She glanced longingly at the smaller, less dirty boxes that were left in the closet.  
  
“This one feels important.”  
  
Sara brushed the grime off her pleated skirt. “I hope so. My mom’s gonna kill me when she sees my uniform…”   
  
El was still in her school uniform too, but she didn’t care. She wasted no time digging through the box. Not really sure what she was looking for, she pulled everything out and then sat down in the middle of the pile.  
  
Her father never talked much about his past. He was extremely closed off in that regard, and El had never pushed it. Up until now, she had never had the desire to know. “He told me he used to play football, once.” She held up a red and white letterman jacket for Sara to inspect. It dwarfed her petite frame.  
  
“Did he meet your mom in high school?”  
  
“I think so.”  
  
Sara held up a tangled red and white pom-pom. “Was she a cheerleader? Maybe they were super popular.”  
  
El stuck out her tongue in disgust. “Yuck. I hope not.” She had always imagined her mother to be a rebel and way too cool to be a cheerleader.  
  
“Look!” Sara grabbed a stack of pictures. “There’s gotta be something good in here.” She thrust them into El’s hands and the girls huddled together, staring intently at each one for clues. There were lots of photos. Football games. Parties. Various landmarks. It wasn’t until the end of the stack, when a photo looked different than the rest.  
  
“That’s her,” gasped El. “That’s my mom.” She let the rest of the pile drop as she studied the photo.  
  
“Did she look like that in your dream?”  
  
“It wasn’t a dream.”  
  
Sara sighed. “Okay, memory. Whatever. Is that what she looked like?”  
  
El frowned. “No. She was older…and her hair was longer.” She couldn’t look away from the picture. Her mother’s dark hair was short, about chin length, just like her own. It looked as though someone had caught her off guard. She wasn’t looking at the camera, but her lips were half turned into a smile and her top teeth were just visible.  
  
Sara pulled on her arm to get her attention, but El shrugged her off. “El.”  
  
“Hold on!”  
  
“El! You have to see this one,” Sara insisted. “Seriously…you have to.”  
  
She didn’t want to peel her eyes away from her mother. She wanted to stare at the photo forever, but she had no choice when her friend thrust a new one into her line of sight.  
  
“It’s your parents!”  
  
Her stomach dropped as she snatched the picture away. “Their wedding day…” They were both young, as young as Joyce was in the last picture. Joyce wore a simple white dress with a long flowing vail. Hopper was dressed in his military uniform. They weren’t looking at whoever had taken the picture. They were looking at each other, with wistful smiles.  
  
“They look so happy.”   
  
El touched their faces with her fingertip. “Yeah. They do.” She had never seen her father look that happy. He looked like a different man then. Less stressed. Less worn down. Less grumpy.  
  
“If they were happy, then why’d they break up?”  
  
“My dad said they couldn’t make it work.” Seeing the couple in the picture, she couldn’t imagine how that was possible.   
  
Sara didn’t understand either. “But, what about your mom? What happened to her?”  
  
El frowned. “He never said.”  
  
“Didn’t you ever ask?”  
  
Tears sprang to her eyes as a melancholy feeling spread over her. “I used to, when I was little…but he would just say that she was gone…and that he was sorry.”  
  
“Sorry for what?”  
  
El couldn’t take her eyes off of the picture. “I don’t know.”  
  
Clearly not understanding how her friend could have so little information, Sara kept rooting through the pile, eager to get to the bottom of the mystery. There were a lot of things that didn’t seem in any way significant. “That’s it? That’s all the pictures he has?”  
  
Reluctantly, El sat the picture down to focus on her friend. “At least…in this box.”  
  
“How long were they married? There has to be more, somewhere…and what about your sister? If she’s real, he must have some of her.”  
  
“She’s real!” snapped El. “I know she is.” She was growing annoyed with her friend’s doubt. “Me and my dad…we moved here right before I turned two, so they must have been divorced by then.” She looked at the wedding picture again, hoping to find a date…or a clue…but she let out a disappointed sigh when she found nothing.  
  
At the bottom of the pile, something pink caught her attention. She pulled it up, revealing a small, knitted baby blanket. The edges were frayed, where the stitching was coming undone with old age. Curiously, she held it up to her face. Everything else from the box smelled old and unused. This, smelled sweet and clean.  
  
Out of nowhere, a jolt, like an electric shock, ran up her spine and suddenly, her dad’s bedroom, and everything in it, faded away. Sara’s voice called for her, but it was soon replaced by the voices of her parents.

***  
  
_“Another blanket?” came her father’s amused tone. He wasn’t talking to her though, he was talking to her mother, who sat in a rocking chair in the corner of the room. She was knitting the pink blanket._  
  
_“Dad?” El tried to say, but no sound came out of her open lips. Darting her eyes around in confusion, her pulse sped up when she realized that she was no longer in his bedroom. The room around her was painted yellow and contained no furniture except for the rocking chair. “Mom?” Again, no sound came out. All she could do was watch the scene unfolding before her._  
  
_“What, do you expect them to share a blanket?” Joyce volleyed back._  
  
_El walked towards her father and watched him study her mother. He wiped a hand over his face and let out a barely audible sigh. “I just don’t want you to be disappointed if it turns out to be just one in there…”_  
  
_The blanket was partially finished. Joyce held it up to inspect her work. The movement revealed her heavily rounded stomach. “I know it’s twins”_  
  
_By Hopper’s exasperated expression, El could tell that the conversation wasn’t new. His furrowed brows suddenly softened, and then without warning, his hands moved to her stomach. “Joyce…”_  
  
_“I know how it sounds Hop…I know I sound crazy...but I know it’s twins. I don’t care what the doctor says.”_  
  
_A deep chuckle left his lips. “You’re not crazy.” He let his hand drop from her stomach as his tall frame sat down on the floor. He scooted so that he was leaning back against the wall. “If you say twins…then it’s twins.” Hopper pulled her left foot into his lap and began to massage it. “But this is the second pink blanket, so all I’m sayin’ is…what if they’re boys?”_  
  
_Joyce met his eyes with a knowing smirk. “They’re girls.”_  
  
_It was obvious, even to El, that he wanted to argue with her. The father she knew wouldn’t miss the opportunity to be right about something. To El’s surprise however, this younger version only nodded in acceptance and reached for her other foot._  
  
_“I’m gonna have to get a second job, then,” he mused. “Girls are expensive.”_  
  
_Joyce sat her knitting needles down and ran a hand through his hair. “Thank you. For believing me. No one else seems to…”_  
  
_“Hey, I’ll always believe you, Joyce. You know that.”_  
  
_Slowly, her parents drifted away, as if they were flying in the air. El was stuck on the ground and she reached out for them in sheer panic. “Mom? Dad?” Starting to freak out, she looked around the room, only to realize that it was now filled with furniture. The rocking chair was still there, but two cribs and two dressers now surrounded it._  
  
_Two distinct giggles were coming from the one crib and as she crept towards the sound, a euphoric feeling settled into her chest. Two identical babies sat up in the crib. El gasped when she realized that they both looked like her._  
  
_She called out her own name, desperate to figure out what was going on and which one she was, but like her parents, the babies couldn’t hear her. With her mouth still open, she watched as the girls took turns pulling the pink blanket over their heads. The giggling continued until suddenly, the blanket floated up above them. Both girls stared at it in awe. One of them waved her hands and the blanket floated up higher and higher until it nearly touched the ceiling._

_Out of nowhere, Hopper appeared back in the room. The care free man from just a few minutes ago was gone. He now looked completely panic stricken._

_“El. Jesus. Stop that…”_

_Tears filled El’s eyes as she realized that she was the baby with her hands in the air. Her father picked her up and turned her away from her sister. The blanket fell back into the crib with a thump._

_“You have to stop doing that.” Fearfully, he glanced at the bedroom door. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Please. Your mom...she’s hangin’ by a thread...she can’t take much more…”_

  
***  
The yellow room disappeared as fast as it came and El soon heard loud wails and her father’s voice calling her name. It took her a few minutes to realize that she was back in his bedroom and it took her even longer to realize that the wails….were were own.

“Breathe, El. In and out. You can do it. You’re okay.” Hopper’s voice was strong and insistent, but she couldn’t stop crying and she couldn’t catch her breath. Her heart was beating out of control and she could feel blood dripping down her face. “Ellie, just breath. You’re safe. It’s okay.” It was the last thing she heard before she passed out.

When she came to a few hours later, her father’s worried eyes were the first thing she saw. “Hey, kid.” She tried to sit up, but her pounding head forced her to stay put. “You had me scared, there for a bit.”

She didn’t have to look around to know that they were safe and sound in his bed. The comforting smell of his sheets and pillows enveloped her like a warm hug. “Wh...what happened?”

Despite the fact that she was awake, Hopper still looked worried and on edge. He felt her forehead and tucked the covers more tightly around her. “Uh, I dunno. I think maybe...maybe you had an episode.” Out of habit, El moved her hand towards her nose, and he shook his head. “The blood’s gone. I got you cleaned up.”

“Was it bad?”

Hopper frowned. “Yeah. Yeah, it was. You were gone a long time.”

El’s cheeks reddened in shame. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” he insisted, clearing his throat to keep his emotions at bay.

It had been so long since her last episode that she had almost forgotten what it felt like. She had forgotten the utter terror of being in one place one second and then gone the next.

“Do you remember anything? Do you remember what happened?”

Looking straight into her father’s eyes, she admitted, “I saw mom.”

His eyes remained focused on hers, but his face froze. Somehow, he managed to keep his tone even. “Where?”

Tears filled her eyes once again as she remembered her visions. “I don’t know. There was a yellow room...and I was little...and a pink blanket...and…” she was about to tell him about her sister, she was about to tell him everything, but he turned away from her just as an anguished expression crossed his features. Deciding against telling him the rest, she lied instead. “I don’t remember the rest.”

Hopper was breathing hard. He pinched the bridge of his nose and then stood up. “What were you doing? Why were you going through my stuff?” His gaze shifted between the box and her. “I’m not mad, alright? But you need to help me out here. I don’t understand.” Like El, he too had forgotten how terrifying her episodes could be.

“I just wanted to know about my mom…”

“You could have asked,” he bit out.

Slowly, she sat up. Her headache was starting to get better. “You never talk about her.”

Hopper turned away from her as he ran his hands through his hair. When he turned back, he looked like he was about to cry. “I know,” came his broken tone. He didn’t apologize outright, but it was there, in his inflection.

Seeing her father so sad, made her more upset. The very end of her vision came back to her and the plug holding her emotions together burst open as tears poured out of her eyes. Her mother was hanging on by a thread. That’s what he had said. “Does she hate me?”

“What?”

“Mom. Did I scare her? Is that why she made me leave?”

He was back at her side within seconds. He pulled her towards him and she crumbled against his chest. If he was surprised by her knowledge of the past, he didn’t show it. “You could never scare her. You hear me? She loved you.” El’s cries broke his heart. Hopper would do anything to make her feel better, even if it meant telling her more than he had ever told her before. “She just wanted to keep you safe. You weren’t safe there.”

When her sobs lessened, she was able to ask, “But, I’m safe here?”

“Yeah, but you’ve still gotta follow the rules. And rule number one is…”

El finished his sentence. “No powers.” Her ability to move objects had always been a part of her, and for as long as she could remember, her father had been insisting that she stop. When she was little, it was a game. Now that she was older, it was a rule, one that she never truly understood.

Hopper kissed the top of her head and then let his chin rest against her soft hair. “Right. You’re special, El...and you’ll be in danger if the wrong people ever find out.”

“By bad people?”

“Yes. There are bad people in Indiana...where you were born. Where your mother is. They don’t know you’re here.”

“Does she know where I am?”

Hopper was quiet for a long time before responding, “Yeah. Yeah she does. I got a job offer out here, so that’s why we came. She just wanted you to stay safe.”

Again, El had the urge to ask about her sister, but she found that her throat tightened whenever she came close. Having learned too much information all at once, her head began to pound again. Comforted by her father’s strong arms, she was lulled to sleep, leaving her questions for another day. 


	4. Chapter 4

Jane’s dreams subsided as spring turned to summer. Her mission to find out more information about her past went nowhere and without the dreams keeping her devoted to the cause, she soon lost the motivation to keep searching. Her younger brother’s curiosity however, was still raging.  
  
“You can’t go to camp,” Will pleaded. “What about our mission?”  
  
Standing outside the entrance to Hawkins Middle School with well used luggage surrounding her, Jane nudged his arm in the hopes of cheering him up. “You’ll be in charge while I’m gone. You can keep an eye on mom...see if she does anything unusual.”  
  
The boy frowned. “But, how will I know?”  
  
“You’ll know.” Jane sent a knowing look to her left. Will followed her gaze and they watched in silence as their mother spoke to Jane’s science teacher, Mr. Clark.  
  
“There’s Jonathan!” Will pointed in surprise.  
  
Jonathan strolled towards them with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his movie theater uniform. Jane shot him an accusatory look. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”  
  
“And miss out on all this?” He glanced around where dozens of parents and children stood huddled in groups. The scene should have been pure chaos, but it was too early in the morning for that kind of thing. “I can be a few minutes late.”  
  
Jonathan’s gaze eventually settled on a crowd of teenagers his own age and Jane snorted. “You’re just here to see Nancy!”  
  
“What? No I’m not.” His red cheeks betrayed his words.  
  
“You like her.”  
  
“I do not! Besides, she’s got a boyfriend.”  
  
Will tried his best to follow along with his older siblings. “Steve Harrington?” he asked. Nancy and Steve were standing together, saying what looked like a very intimate goodbye. “Gross.”  
  
“He’s a camp counselor, this year,” came Jane’s indifferent statement. “Wish it were Nancy, instead. At least she’s nice.”  
  
With a groan, Jonathan turned his body so that he didn’t have to see the couple. He quickly changed the subject. “I can’t believe mom’s actually letting you go.”  
  
Jane’s face lit up. “Mr. Clark helped me get that big scholarship. How could she say no?”  
  
“Just don’t go getting into any trouble, or she’ll never let you go anywhere again.” He was only half joking.   
  
Joyce made her way over and the conversation quickly died. “Alright, the bus should be here any minute. The ride should only take about four hours.” She studied her daughter and her beat up luggage with furrowed brows. “I just hope we packed everything…”  
  
Jane rolled her eyes. “We did. We checked the list like ten times.”  
  
Joyce bit the corner of her bottom lip before conceding, “You’re right. I’m sure it’s fine.”  
  
Recognizing that she was doing her best to keep herself calm and unemotional, Jonathan put his arm around her. “She’s gonna be fine, mom. It’s just science camp. And she’ll have her spazzo friends there with her.”  
  
“Mike and Dustin aren’t spazzo,” scoffed Jane.  
  
Joyce pushed her bangs back away from her forehead and leaned into his shoulder before pulling her body up straight. “I know.” At Jonathan’s amused grin, her big eyes widened. “That’s she’ll be fine!” she corrected. “Not that her friends are…well, never mind. You know what I mean” She held her hands up in the air and then focused on her daughter. With new resolve, she gave Jane one final hug. “I’ve only spent two nights away from you…you’re whole life. You know that?”  
  
Starting to feel a little emotional herself, Jane hugged her tightly. The excitement to leave home was now giving way to fear. “I’ll miss you, mom.”  
  
“I’ll miss you more.” Joyce took a deep breath as the yellow school bus pulled up. She pulled away, and touched her daughter’s cheek. “You better write to us…with all that fancy stationery you just had to have.”  
  
“I will.”  
  
“Jane! We’ve gotta sit in the very back,” Mike called as he sped towards the bus. Their friend Dustin, was quick on his heels. “Come on!” Now that the bus was there, spewing its strong fumes around them, the crowd began to radiate with excitement.  
  
“I’ve got snacks for our journey,” Dustin said, urging her forward with huge arm motions. “Hurry up!”  
  
“Hey, you spazoids better watch out for my sister!” Jonathan insisted, feeling suddenly protective.   
  
It was Dustin who responded as Jane smacked his arm. “We will!”  
  
“Go on, Janie. Get going before I change my mind.”  
  
The push from her mother was what she needed, and she smiled at her brothers before racing off to join her friends.  
  
“Why can’t I go?” Will asked, in a disappointed voice.  
  
Joyce blinked back tears. “You’re too little, baby. Maybe when you’re older.”  
  
The boy’s lip quivered. “I don’t want her to go.”  
  
Before she could reach for him, Jonathan pulled him to his side and messed up his hair. “Hey, you’ve still got me. Who needs girls, anyway?”  
  
Will didn’t feel any better. Jane wasn’t like other girls. “You’re just bummed about Nancy.”  
  
Joyce sent Jonathan a knowing smile before shifting her gaze to the Wheeler family. “Nancy, huh?” She watched as Nancy hugged her mother and younger sister.  
  
“Ugh.” Jonathan let go of his brother in exasperation. “I’m going to work.”  
  
His exit gave Joyce the chance to hug her son. “We’ll keep each other company.” Together, they waved and forlornly watched the school bus pull away.

***  
  
In New York, El too, was preparing for summer vacation, but she was not at all happy about it. “Why do I have to go to stupid camp?” She sat in the back of the taxi, complaining to her father, as they sped towards the nearest airport. “Sara’s parents aren’t making her go!”  
  
Frustrated with having the same argument, over and over, Hopper stared out the window, watching as the Manhattan buildings sped by. “You aren’t gonna sit around watchin’ MTV all summer. Forget it.” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that El was about to argue, and he held up his hand. “Don’t even try to lie. I know you’ve been watching that garbage.”  
  
El huffed. “But, science camp?”  
  
“You’ll learn something.”  
  
“It’s for nerds!”  
  
Hopper whipped his head towards her to stare at her all black outfit and newly short hair that had purple streaks of hair dye running through it. “You could do with some good influence.”  
  
“Sara’s a good influence!”  
  
“It ain’t Sara I’m worried about,” he grumbled.  
  
El sulked. Her father didn’t approve of some of her newer friends, but that only made her want to hang out with them more. “And why does it have to be in Michigan? Why can’t I go to a camp in New York?”  
  
His patience wearing thin, Hopper pursed his lips. “Listen, it’s only four weeks. If you hate it, you can pick a new one next year.”  
  
“Any camp I want?”  
  
“Sure, kid. Just get through this summer. Alright?”  
  
“Alright,” El agreed. Sitting back, she rested her head against the seat and closed her eyes. She awoke when the car jolted to a stop in front of the airport.  
  
They were late and had to rush out of the taxi and into the building with her bags. Hopper went with her to the gate only to find that he had trouble saying a proper goodbye. “You know the rules…”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Paranoid, he glanced around and lowered his voice. “No one can know about…”  
  
El laughed. “Dad, I know.”  
  
“And you’ll write me?”  
  
“Every day,” she smirked, with a roll of her eyes.  
  
Hopper swallowed hard. He hadn’t been prepared for this. Camp seemed like a good idea at the time. “Okay, try and have fun. Meet some new friends.”  
  
“I’ll try.” She turned around to leave, but then his hands were on her shoulders, spinning her around. Soon, she was wrapped in a giant hug.  
  
“I love you, Ellie…and I’m proud of you for doing this.”  
  
El swallowed down the sudden lump that had developed in her throat. “I love you, too.”  
  
Hopper stood in the airport until her plane safely taxied down the runway and was out of sight. Since moving to New York, he had never spent more than 24 hours away from his daughter. That thought hit him hard as he forced himself to leave.

 


	5. Chapter 5

The cavernous mess hall was filled with hundreds of middle school students. Jane had never seen so many people before. It was intimidating in a way that she wasn’t used to. Being away from home was harder than she thought it would be, but luckily she had her friends to keep her company.  
  
“Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod,” Dustin exclaimed, while racing towards the table. He had a tray filled to the brim with food that toppled over when he sat down. “Guys, you’ll never believe what I just saw.”  
  
Mike took a sip from his chocolate milk carton and unenthusiastically replied, “It better not be that stupid raccoon again. I told you to leave it. It’s probably got rabies.”  
  
“It’s not! And it doesn’t have rabies. Not all of them are nocturnal. That’s a myth…I’ve told you a million times.”  
  
“It was foaming at the mouth, Dustin! It definitely does.”  
  
“No it doesn’t!”  
  
Jane, who sat in between the two boys, snatched a cup of pudding off of Dustin’s plate and dug into it. Their argument continued on around her until she grew frustrated. “What’d you see, then?”  
  
“What?” Dustin already forgot.  
  
“You saw something, didn’t you? So what was it?”  
  
He stared at her blankly for a few seconds before his mind caught up to her words. “Oh! Oh yeah! There was a girl in line for pudding who looked just like you.”  
  
Jane touched her chest. “Like me?”  
  
“She’s over there.” He turned around and pointed to the other side of the room. “Dammit. Where’d she go?” Standing up, he scanned the room, but it was impossible to find her. All campers, regardless of gender, wore the same green shorts and white shirt. “Shit, shit, shit. I knew I should have followed her.”  
  
Mike’s face turned incredulous. “Why? There’s tons of pretty girls here who probably look like Jane.” His cheeks turned pink as he realized what he had just said. His eyes darted to his lunch tray. Luckily for him, Dustin and Jane were too busy scanning the room.  
  
“You’re not listening to me. This girl looked exactly like you. I mean exactly. I thought it was you, but then I realized that she’s a weirdo.”  
  
Jane frowned. “A weirdo?”  
  
Dustin held up his hands around his hair to demonstrate. “Yeah, she’s got this weird hair…it’s short and purple…you’ll see, if I can ever find her again.”  
  
“Purple hair? She should be easy to find, then.” Jane kept searching, but the sea of people was just too big.  
  
Mike eventually lifted his eyes up. “So you saw a weirdo. So what?”  
  
Dustin rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Seriously, do I have to explain everything? Do you know the chances of a stranger looking exactly like you?”  
  
“No, and I don’t really care, either.”  
  
“It’s basically impossible.”  
  
Once again, Jane had to interrupt their bickering. With a shrug, she said, “Maybe we’ll see her at the bonfire tonight.” She went back to eating her pudding until she noticed that Dustin was staring at her with wide eyes. “What?”  
  
“You aren’t even the least bit interested?”  
  
“Not everyone with brown eyes looks alike.”  
  
Dustin sighed. “You guys are so stupid sometimes, I swear. Once we find the weirdo, you’ll see what I mean.”  
  
Mike crossed his arms. “Fine. Show us then, later.”  
  
“I will, I promise, and you’ll be sorry.”  
  
***  
Dustin made good on his promise later that night. “There she is!” He was crouched below a log, on the other side of the huge bonfire. “I knew we’d see her. They made everyone come to this.”  
  
Doubtfully, Mike pushed him away to get a better look. “Let me see.” The distance was too far to get a real good look though, so he turned to Dustin. “We need to get closer.”  
  
“How?” wondered Jane.  
  
Dustin ducked down. “Follow me.”  
  
“I don’t know…” She was always down for an adventure, but suddenly, she wasn’t feeling so sure.  
  
Dustin rolled his eyes. “Just come on.”  
  
They crept around the fire, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, until they were only a few feet away. “Here. Look.” With a triumphant grin, Dustin pointed. “Your doppelganger.”  
  
Jane followed his gaze. “What’s a doppelganger?” Dustin began to explain, but the noise around her grew muffled. The scenery around her blurred. Suddenly, the girl turned to look right at her. Jane’s head began to pound as their identical eyes locked.  
  
Mike’s screech broke her out of her trance. “Shit, she saw us!” He grabbed onto her wrist to get her attention. “Run!” Jane couldn’t move, though. She was stuck in place. Neither girl could stop staring. It wasn’t until the girl broke their gaze that she could move.  
  
“Jane, come on!” yelled Dustin.  
  
With her friends, Jane ran and ran until they were all too winded to continue. They came to a halt out front of her cabin.  
  
“The nerve of her,” gulped Mike as he plopped down on the porch steps. “Coming here with your face.”  
  
Dustin couldn’t stop smiling. “This is so cool. You’ve got a doppelganger. I told you! Wait till we tell Mr. Clark. Do you know what kinda awesome discovery this is?”  
  
Jane couldn’t say anything. It was as if her lips were sealed shut. The boys carried on with their conversation, but instead of joining in, she committed the girl to her memory. Her odd dreams came back to her then, and played out over and over in her head.  
  
***  
  
After the bonfire, Jane’s dreams came back with a vengeance. They weren’t clear, like before. She could barely remember them upon waking up, but their remnants left her in a funk for days. Two days passed since the weird encounter and she had not come across the girl again. The boys weren’t giving up. They even recruited their friend, Lucas, to help spy, but Jane’s heart wasn’t in it. An awful sense of foreboding crept over her whenever the girl came up. Who was she? Why did they look alike? And why…were her dreams now worse than ever?  
  
On a dreary Wednesday, all the campers were forced to go on a mandatory hike. Mike, Dustin, and Lucas used it as an opportunity to spy. It didn’t take them long to find the girl.  
  
“She’s there, near the creek,” Lucas snapped, as he lowered his binoculars. He had a green bandana tied around his forehead and black paint under his brown eyes. “Here, look.” He handed them off to Dustin, who quickly agreed with his assessment.  
  
“What’s she doing with Max?” said Mike, once he had taken his turn. “She’s so annoying.”  
  
“She’s nice,” Jane defended. She didn’t need binoculars to spot Max’s bright red hair. “She helped me with my math homework last year.”  
  
Mike looked at her as if she had two heads. “Her and her brother are mouth breathers.”  
  
“She is not!”  
  
“Is too!”  
  
“Guys!” exclaimed Dustin. When they ignored him, he clapped his hands. “Guys, she’s coming this way!”  
  
The fighting stopped abruptly. Mike and Jane thought about running, but it was too late. The girl was only a foot away from them, with Max following closely behind. She stepped in front of her friend when they approached the group.  
  
“What are you stalkers, doing?” snapped Max.  
  
“We’re not stalkers,” Mike snapped back.  
  
Max rolled her eyes. “Oh, okay. I guess you just follow us around camp for fun, then?”  
  
“We’re not following you,” Dustin argued. “We’re following the weirdo.”  
  
“Dustin, what the hell?” Lucas slapped him across the arm. “Way to blow our whole mission.”  
  
Max came to her new friend’s defense. “She’s a weirdo? Oh, you’ve got room to talk, stalker.”   
  
Jane jumped into the conversation. “They’re not stalkers, Max.”  
  
Max threw her hands into the air in incredulousness. “Then what are they?” She stepped away, allowing the girl behind her to be seen fully. “They’re stalking you, aren’t they, El?”  
  
“El? That’s her name?” Dustin asked. “What kinda name is that?”  
  
“I’m right here,” snapped El. She glared at Dustin for a second before finding Jane’s wide eyes.  
  
The group, including Max, watched in awe as the two identical girls took each other in properly for the first time.  
  
“In case you haven’t been paying attention, Jane and El are doppelgangers.” Dustin told Max. “How did you not notice?”  
  
“She doesn’t notice anything but that skateboard,” Mike cut in.  
  
Max crossed her arms. “Shut up!” She couldn’t focus on the boys. Her gaze kept wandering back to the girls who were now standing only a few inches apart.  
  
Nervously, Jane pushed a piece of brown hair behind her ear. As she did so, El’s gaze locked on the hair tie around her wrist.  
  
“El?” Jane whispered. “You’re…you’re real?”  
  
El reached for her wrist, to get a better look at the hair tie. She recognized it immediately. “My dad wears this same one…” Suddenly, both girls were jolted as if being pulled away. Everything around them disappeared only to be replaced by a familiar scene, one that had been haunting their dreams.  
  
_“I’m sorry, El. I’m so sorry, baby.”_  
  
_“Joyce. We don’t have to do this. It’s crazy.”_  
  
_“Stop saying that! We do. We have to.”_  
  
_“We don’t!”_  
  
_“We’ve talked about this. We don’t have a choice.”_  
  
_“You can come with us. Both of you.”_  
  
_“They’ll find me…and they’ll find El. They’ll take her away. I know it. Please believe me.”_  
  
_“This is all wrong…we can’t…I can’t do this.”_  
  
_“Please take her, Hopper. Please. They’ll never leave her alone here.”_  
  
_“Ellieeeeee! Ellliiieeee!”_  
  
_“Jay! Jay!”_  
  
El was shaken back to reality when Max pulled her away. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”  
  
Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she fought against Max as her body unconsciously reacted to losing contact with her sister. “Jane,” she cried out, before moving back towards her.  
  
Mike and Dustin were at Jane’s side. It took her a long time to come out of the vision and when she did, she let out an ear piercing scream and glanced around in terror. “What happened?” Mike demanded as he looked at El.  
  
“Your nose is bleeding,” Dustin said, looking at El.  
  
Max pointed to Jane. “Hers is too.”  
  
Frightened, Lucas stepped in. “Guys, this is weird. Maybe…uh….maybe we should get the nurse.”  
  
“What’d you do to her?” demanded Mike. “You did something. She was fine before!”  
  
Jane’s legs wobbled until she slid down onto the muddy ground. She took big gasps of air and then began to cry. Her small body shook, even as El knelt down and wrapped her arms around her.  
  
Dustin looked to his friends. “I don’t get it. What’s going on?”  
  
“She just needs to rest,” insisted El.  
  
Mike refused to believe it. “You don’t know that.”  
  
“Yes I do.”  
  
Just as confused as the boys, Max stepped forward. “How?”   
  
El didn’t pay them any attention as she comforted Jane. “This happens to me a lot…and it probably happens to her, too.”  
  
“No....no...I’d know,” insisted Mike. “We’ve been friends since Kindergarten.” Jane was his oldest friend. At times, she had been his only friend. He would protect her at all cost. “You’re making her worse.”  
  
El shook her head. Her own tears had dried up and now, her eyes were filled with determination. “No.”  
  
“No? No? Look at her!”  
  
“She’s my sister,” El stated, as if it explained everything. “I know what to do.”   
  
El’s proclamation rendered Mike speechless. He peeled his eyes away from the girls and looked at his friends. Their mouths were all wide open in shock.  
  
As Jane’s cries subsided, Dustin threw his hands up into the air. “There goes my scientific discovery,” he mumbled. No one responded, they were all too intrigued by the sisters.

 


	6. Chapter 6

“Stop!” Mike yelled at Dustin. Dustin was peering over Jane’s lifeless body, snapping his fingers to make her speak. “You’re freaking her out.” The group had carried Jane all the way from the woods to the boys’ cabin and now, they were watching intently as El tried to coax Jane back to normal.  
  
“She’s freaking me out!”  
  
Lucas couldn’t sit still. He paced around the cabin while his friends sat on the empty beds. “Guys, we’ve gotta get the nurse. Something could be really wrong with her.”  
  
El responded right away. “No.” She was sitting on one side of Jane and Mike was on the other.  
  
“Look at her! This isn’t normal. The nurse will know what to do.”  
  
Dustin glanced back and forth between Lucas and Jane. “We did promise Mrs. Byers that’d we’d take care of her…”  
  
“Exactly.” Lucas threw up his hands. “So we should get the nurse.”  
  
Mike stood up in a rush. “No. We should listen to El.” Their confused faces stared back at him in silence and he rolled his eyes.  
  
“I can’t believe you’re siding with the weirdo,” Lucas snapped. “We don’t even know her! She could be a total psycho.”  
  
“She’s helping her!” shouted Mike. He pointed to the bed, where El had her arms wrapped around her sister. Jane’s color had come back and her small frame had stopped shaking.  
  
“How do we know she didn’t cause it in the first place?”  
  
Max stood up and got in between the two boys. “Shut up.” She looked towards the open door in paranoia. “We’re not even allowed in here.” The boy cabins were strictly off limits to the girls. “You’re gonna get us in trouble if you don’t keep quiet.”  
  
Lucas, surprised to be reprimanded by her, said nothing. Mike used it to his advantage. “We stay here and we wait until she’s better.”  
  
Dustin got up and joined them in the center of the room. “I agree. But we need a plan.”  
  
“That _is_ the plan,” argued Mike. “We stay here until we know more.” He looked over towards El. “You know what’s going on, don’t you?” His tone held only a hint of accusation. “You’ve gotta tell us.”  
  
“We’re her friends,” Dustin added.  
  
Mike nodded. “Her best friends.”  
  
El tore her gaze away from Jane to stare at the group. Her father’s rules were at the forefront of her mind. She couldn’t use her powers. She couldn’t talk about her powers. She couldn’t tell anyone…about anything. But, as Jane’s hand squeezed hers, rebellious anger bubbled up inside of her. She wasn’t stupid. Her father had lied to her about Jane. He had lied about a lot of things. If he could break the rules, then so could she.  
  
Cockily, she stuck her chin up as she made up her mind. “What do you wanna know?”  
  
Within seconds, the group fumbled towards the bed. Max sat on the end. Mike sat beside Jane, and Lucas and Dustin grabbed chairs.  
  
“Wait, wait, we’ll need snacks,” Dustin insisted. He tore through his trunk, filling his arms with snacks, and then plopped them all down on the bed. “We need fuel.”  
  
No one reached for the snacks. Instead, they all stared at El until she made a face. “Well?”  
  
It was Max who spoke first. “So, you guys are like, twins?” She looked between both girls, trying to spot any differences. Aside from their hair, they were identical in every way. It was still a shocking sight to see.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“But, aren’t you from New York?”  
  
“I was born in Indiana. I moved to the city when I was little,” whispered El.  
  
Mike was eager to hear more. “You were born in Hawkins?”

Dustin moved his chair closer. The legs scrapped against the rugged wood floor. “Woah. So is your last name Byers, too?”

El frowned at that. “No. It’s Hopper.”  
  
“Then how are you twins?”

El’s brows were furrowed as she looked towards her sister. “You’re last name isn’t Hopper?” She had so many questions, but didn’t have time to ask them  
  
Jane was still in shock, and said nothing, prompting Dustin to add, “Her last name’s Byers.”  
  
Despite the evidence before him, Mike was still feeling doubtful and voiced his opinion rather loudly. “Jane would have told me if she had a twin sister.”  
  
“I’m sorry, Mike,” Jane said, out of the blue.  
  
His gaze snapped from El to Jane when he realized who had spoken. “You’re okay!” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “We were so worried about you.”  
  
Jane shyly smiled. “I’m okay.”  
  
When Mike let go of her hand, Dustin forced a piece of candy into it. “Here, have some chocolate. It’ll help.”  
  
“Your sister was just telling us what the hell’s going on,” Lucas said.  
  
Jane took tiny bites of the candy bar. “I know. I heard.”  
  
“So you knew, then?” Mike demanded, though his tone remained soft. “You knew about her?”  
  
Without looking at El, Jane handed her a piece of the chocolate and El wordlessly took it. Somehow, they already knew what each other needed. “Not until a few months ago. I started having this dream…the one I just had…”  
  
El nodded. “Me too.”  
  
Mike asked the question that everyone wanted to know. “What was it about?”  
  
The girls shared a silent look of understanding. It was El who spoke. “It was a memory. From the day my dad took me away.”  
  
“Technically he’s both of your dads.” Dustin corrected, pointing to the two of them. El glared at him and he shrugged. “I’m just saying! If your dad is her dad than her dad is your dad.”  
  
Max threw a pack of M&M’s at him. “Okay, we get it.”  
  
In a small voice, Jane said, “She made him do it.” Only, she wasn’t talking to the group, but to her sister. “Mom did. She made him take you away.”  
  
El’s brown eyes swam with tears. “I know. Dad told me.”  
  
Jane couldn’t hide her shock. “He did?” El nodded and then Jane’s eyes also filled with tears. Why hadn’t her mother told her that? “Why would she do that? And why would he listen? Why’d he leave me?” The questions had been plaguing her for months.  
  
“I don’t know. He didn’t say anything about you. He just said that bad people were after me and mom wanted to keep me safe.”  
  
Max snorted in disbelief. “Bad people? What bad people?”  
  
El grew defensive. “How should I know? That’s all my dad told me.”

Lucas raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You didn’t ask?”

“He doesn’t like talking about the past.”

Jane backed he rup. “My mom doesn’t either.” Jane ignored everyone else and focused only on El. She was finally getting answers and she wasn’t about to stop now. “Why were they after you?”  
  
“Because…” Feeling guilty that she was about to betray her father, El paused. Could she really break such a big rule? In the end, it was her sister’s pleading gaze that propelled her forward. “Because I’ve got powers.”  
  
For a second, there was silence at her words, and then, both Lucas and Max started to laugh. Dustin and Mike eventually laughed too.  
  
“I’m serious!” snapped El.  
  
Max rolled her eyes. “Sure you are. And I’m the Queen of England.”  
  
Before El could argue, footsteps stomped up the porch and the sound of older voices carried through the open door. “Shit. It’s Steve!” Lucas said in a harsh tone. “We’re dead.”  
  
Dustin flew up out of his chair. “We’re in deep shit if you guys get caught in here. We’ve already got a warning for leaving the bonfire.”  
  
“Hey, what are you guys doing in here? You’re supposed to be on the hike,” Steve yelled. Just as he was about to make it to the doorway, the door flew shut and then the lock twisted on its own accord. The open windows soon followed as they slammed shut.  
  
Max yelped. “What the hell?”  
  
“What just happened?” Lucas demanded, a hint of panic in his tone.  
  
“Maybe it was the wind?” Dustin suggested.  
  
“No,” said Mike. He was the only one who wasn’t terrified. “It’s El.”  
  
Everyone turned to stare at her again. Steve was yelling and trying to open the door, but they paid no attention.  
  
As if they weren’t even in the room, El turned back to Jane and grabbed her hand. “I told you. I’ve got powers. That’s why they were after me.”  
  
Emotionally and physically drained, Jane was completely overwhelmed with the situation. Suddenly desperate for comfort, she wrapped her arms around her sister and hugged her tight. Safe in each other’s arms, the trauma of their shared memory felt less terrifying.  
  
“Holy shit,” Dustin exclaimed. “You’re like…an X-Man.” Everyone else was too stunned to respond.

  



	7. Chapter 7

_The kitchen was blurry for a long time and the voices sounded far away. Slowly, the scenery cleared. The voices grew closer, and louder, until they were clear._

_“El did it again. Today. At the grocery store. The grocery store, Hopper!”_

_“Joyce, I heard you the first time.”_

_“You’re not acting like it.”_

_“Just calm down.”_

_“Calm down?” Joyce spat. “My baby’s moving things with her mind, and you want me to calm down?”_

_From her highchair, El looked over at Jane and let out a string of babbles that Jane soon repeated back. They didn’t pay much attention to their parents. They were focused on the Cheerios that were stuck to their chubby fingers._

_Hopper let out a frustrated sigh .“What do you wanna do, huh? Do you wanna take her back to the hospital? They’ll just take more of our money and tell us we’re crazy, again.”_

_Joyce’s voice was high pitched as her hands batted through the air. “I don’t know! But it’s getting worse. The cereal flew right off the shelf and then she had one up in the air so high that I couldn’t reach it. What if someone saw? How are we supposed to explain that away?”_

_Her movements around the kitchen were fast paced and sporadic. He tried to still her, by holding onto her shoulders, but she jumped out of his grasp like a skittish cat. “What about Hawkins Lab?”_

_“What?” Her face twisted into lines of disgust. “How can you even suggest that?”_

_“Joyce, here me out…” he begged, but she cut him off by shoving his body away._

_Her eyes were bright with betrayal. “After what they did? You think I’m gonna let that place touch my baby?” She turned away from him and moved towards the twins. Her hand swept over each of their soft heads before dumping more cereal onto their trays._

_“You said it yourself, you don’t even remember most of it.”_

_Joyce shook her head. “So that makes it okay? I was 12 years old, Hop!”_

_Hopper held up his hands. “I’m just sayin’....what if they know what’s wrong with her? What if they can help her?”_

_“I can’t believe you,” muttered Joyce. El looked up at her and offered her a handful of soggy cereal. Gently, Joyce pushed her hand away before she hit Hopper with a seething glare. “They tried to use me for whatever sick experiments they’re involved in up there. They’re monsters! You know that. They won’t help her. They’ll take her and we’ll never see her again. Is that what you want?”_

_“Of course not.” Hopper ducked his head down in defeat. “That’s not what I meant. You know that. I’m just trying to come up with ideas. That’s all.”_

_El demanded her mother’s attention by banging her fists against the tray. “Mamamama.” Jane was too focused on her cereal to follow suit._

_“We’ll just have to stay inside. That’s all. We can’t risk taking her out…not until she’s older...not until we can teach her not to do it….”_

_“We can’t keep her in here like a damn prisoner,” insisted Hopper._

_“Mamamama,” shrieked El, over and over. She didn’t stop until Joyce scooped her up._

_Having the baby in her arms didn’t cool down her temper. “I’ve got no other choice.”_

_“We’ve got choices,” corrected Hopper._

_“You’re never here! So it’s up to me to keep her safe.”_

_“Shit, Joyce. Here we go again with this! What the hell am I supposed to do? The station in Marlton was the only one hiring. You know that!”_

_El grabbed a fistful of her mother’s hair and pulled hard, but she didn’t react. She was too busy shooting her husband another glare. “Don’t give me that shit. I know you spend more time there than you need to. I know you’d rather be there than here…dealing with this!”_

_“Jesus Christ. Are you even listening to yourself?” he roared. The sudden noise startled Jane, and made her cry. Their argument stopped right away. Hopper groaned and then lifted the baby out of her chair. He fled the room as El watched in total confusion._

_***_

El’s eyes flew open. It took her a few seconds to figure out that she was in her bed, at camp, and not in the kitchen. In the darkness of the room, she could make out the silhouettes of her fellow cabin mates. She let out a sigh of relief when she heard no signs of them waking up. She didn’t want to talk to any of them, or explain what had just happened. There was only one person who would understand and she felt the sudden urge to seek her out.

Quietly she got dressed and then snuck out of the cabin. It was risky business. And she could get in big trouble, but she didn’t care. She had always been a risk taker. Jane’s cabin was up the hill. Near the lake. She cautiously crept around in the dark. For a while, she saw no one, but then suddenly, a familiar silhouette appeared in front of her. It was Jane.

“What are you doing?” they said, at the same time. Their answers were also in unison. “Looking for you.”

El took Jane’s arm and pulled her towards the lake. It was too dangerous to stay out in the open. “I had another memory.” There was a small boat house near the dock. They ducked behind it and sat down in the cool grass.

“Me too.”

“You did?”

Jane pulled her knees up to her chest so that she could rest her chin on them. “It was mom and dad…” her somber tone trailed off. “They were fighting.”

“About me,” added El. “We had the same memory.”

“At the same time.” Jane’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that weird?”

El thought for a long time about that before saying anything. “We’re twins.” Her mind raced as it tried to connect the dots. “We look the same. If I’ve got powers, then you must have them too.”

Jane laughed. “I don’t, though.”

“How do you know?” El grabbed her hand. “That thing that happened earlier...it happens to me a lot. My dad says it’s because of my powers. It happened to you, too.”

“El…” the name sounded weird to her ears. Almost, foreign. She quickly corrected herself.“Ellie, wouldn’t I know if I had them?”

“Maybe they’re just not strong enough. Maybe...we can make them stronger.”

Jane smiled at that. “The boys will lose their shit.”

A cool breeze blew by them and El moved closer to her sister. “Bitchin.’”

***

The boys did lose their shit when they learned that Jane may have powers. They went to work right away, planning a time and place for them to all meet up so that they could test it out. They had the perfect opportunity a few days later.

“You need to concentrate, Jane,” Dustin said. He held up a stick and then let it go. It fell to the ground and he frowned. “Come on, you’re not even trying.”

Jane stared at him as if he were crazy. “I’m trying!”

“Make the stick float. Just like El did. You can do it.”

“Leave her alone, Dustin!” Mike snapped. “She’s not a dog.”

“I’m just trying to help.”

Mike stepped towards Jane. “It’s okay. You don’t have to.” They were on the other side of the lake, under a canopy of large willow trees. No one could see them there.

“I wanna try, Mike.” Partly out of competition and partly out of curiosity, she was determined to figure out if she had hidden powers.

Max walked around the group with her arms crossed. She had been relegated to look out person, a job that she was not pleased with. “This is so stupid.”

Mike sent her a glare. “No one said you had to come.”

“They’ve got a connection,” Max pointed to the twins. “So they should be trying this together. Without us.”

Lucas rubbed his chin. “You mean...they could be stronger together?”

“Yeah,” she snapped, with a roll of her eyes. “So we should go and let them figure it out.”

Dustin frowned. “Then we won’t get to see it.”

Mike quickly shot the idea down. “We’re not leaving her.”

“I won’t let anything happen to her,” argued El with a frown. “She’s my sister.”

“Friends don’t leave,” he shot back. “They stick together.”

“So do sisters!” El stormed up to Mike and the two stared each other down in anger. It was weird for Mike, to be staring at someone who looked just like Jane, but wasn’t Jane. And, it was weird for El, to be staring at someone who knew more about her own sister than she did.

Jane put her hand on his shoulder. “Mike, I’ll be okay.”

“But…”

“Max is right. We’ve gotta do this alone.” Her careful tone let him know that she didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

“I’ll keep her safe. I promise,” El insisted.

“Do we get to know what happens, at least?” pleaded Dustin. “If you and Max are gonna be in our party then you need to know...we don’t keep secrets. It’s the law.”

“Who said we wanted to be in your party?” snapped Max.

Mike glared at Dustin. “We didn’t even vote.”

Their fighting would have continued on all day if Jane didn’t speak up. “I’ll tell you what happens.”

“Jane…” Mike began.

“I’ll be fine,” she interrupted.

Hesitantly, Mike gave in. One by one they left until it was just the twins. Sunlight glistened off of the tree leaves, creating halos of light around them.

Once they were alone, El pulled a picture out of her pocket. “I stole this, from dad.” She thrust it into her sister’s hand. “He kept it in a box in the back of his closet.”

Jane stared at the pictured for a long time. Her father looked just like her visions. Her throat grew tight a she realized once again that this was all real. “Their wedding?”

“I think so. I don’t know when it was. There’s no date or anything.”

Jane traced the edges of the picture. “They look so happy.”

“I know. I’ve never seen him look that happy.”

“I’ve never seen mom look that happy, either.”

El reached for the picture. “Sometimes, I get visions, when I hold onto things like this. Maybe...we could both try it together.”

Jane shrugged. “Okay.” She was willing to give anything a try.

Both girls closed their eyes and held opposite ends of the picture. “Concentrate on the picture,” whispered El. “Don’t think about anything else.”

Jane concentrated as hard as she could. Nothing happened. She kept trying and trying but still, nothing happened. It wasn’t until El reached out and touched Jane’s arm that the tree leaves around them started moving and soon, the leaves disappeared all together. They were flung fast and hard into a shared vision.

Joyce was on the phone. She had the long cord wrapped around her wrist. As she spoke, she pulled it tighter and tighter until her skin pulsed and throbbed. “No, Hopper, I need you to come home now. Right. Now.” The man on the other end didn’t tell her what she wanted to hear, so she shook her head. “No, not soon. Now. Something’s wrong with her…with El. Something’s happening...”

She glanced around the doorway and into the living room with a fearful frown as her husband argued into her ear. “I’m not making this up. This is real. She’s…she’s not okay. Please. You have to come home. I don’t know what else to do. Something’s wrong with my baby.” Her insistent tone eventually turned to flat out begging. After a while, she slammed the phone onto the hook and let out a frustrated cry.

The scene faded to black and then when it brightened, Hopper was storming through the door. Joyce was sitting on the couch, pale and motionless. He went to her first, his gaze filled with confusion and concern. “Where’s the baby?”

Joyce pointed a shaky finger across the room, where two wooden cradles sat. One was motionless, while the other, rocked back and forth on its own accord. Hopper heard the creaking, but didn’t believe it until he turned to see it for himself.

In two big strides, he crossed the room and peered down at their daughter. She was sound asleep, her chest rising and falling in a normal rhythm. “How’s she doing that?” He looked under the cradle, then back to El, then around the room. “How’s that happening?”

“Something’s wrong with her, Hop,” Joyce choked out. Her body was shaking so much that she could barely get the words out. “She…she’s been doing this for an hour…and yesterday it was the mobile, above her crib.”

Hopper shook his head in disbelief. “No…no. It doesn’t make sense. It’s…not possible.”

Joyce started crying. “It is! Look!”

Hopper didn’t have to be told to look. He couldn’t take his eyes off the cradle. His lips were tightly shut. He couldn’t speak. Eventually she stood up and her sobs drowned out the creaking. On instinct, he wrapped his arms around her. She fell into his chest and was soon engulfed in his warm body.

“I told you. I told you. Something’s wrong with her....”

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay,” Hopper mumbled. He rested his chin against her head and stared at the cradle in shock.

The vision ended just as fast as it began. Both girls were panting loudly. They opened their eyes at the same time and didn’t speak for several minutes.

“Are you okay?” El finally asked. They were both shivering, but Jane’s shivers were more violent than hers.

“Yeah.” Jane lowered her body to the ground and her sister soon followed. “That was crazy.” She didn’t feel as bad as she had the last time. She swiped at her nose and was happy to find that there was no blood.

“Mine doesn’t bleed all the time, either. It’s weird.”

Jane sighed. “Why are we seeing these things?”

El didn’t have an answer. She wondered the same thing and quickly changed the subject. “So I guess they fought a lot, because of me.”

“Do you think that’s why they broke up?”

“I hope not,” came El’s crestfallen response. “But it seems like it, doesn’t it?”

Jane still had the picture clutched in her hands. She looked down at it and then held it up to show her sister. “There’s no way the people in this picture fell out of love.” Her mother’s smile lit up her entire face. Her skin was glowing and her eyes were shining with happiness. It amazed her. “And no way they’d fall out of love because of you. Something must have happened.”

El nodded in agreement. “Why’d they lie to us, about each other? That doesn’t make sense.”

Feeling stronger than ever, and more determined, Jane held her head high. “We’ve gotta figure it out.”

“How?” El frowned. “How are we supposed to do that if they won’t tell us anything?”

“We’ll use our powers.”

Jane’s response got a smile from El. “I was hoping you’d say that.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Okay. This is what we know, so far…” Mike started. He stared at each of his friends and pointed towards the notebook in his hand.

From across the table, Lucas scoffed, “Do we really have to go over this again?”

The cafeteria was crowded, so Mike had to raise his voice to reply, “How are we supposed to figure anything out if we don’t go over it all together?”

“Just let him go, Lucas,” Dustin snapped. “All the good pudding will be gone if we don’t finish soon.”

Mike held up the notebook for them to see his scratchy handwriting. “Okay, okay. So here goes. We know you’re parents knew each other in school.” He looked to Jane and El for confirmation. When he got it, he continued, “We know they got married young.” Joyce and Hopper’s wedding picture was sitting in the center of the table and he spared it a quick glance before adding, “Then they had you two.”

Lucas cleared this throat. “You forgot about Nam!”

“Oh, right, right.” Mike flipped to a new page. “Your dad was in Vietnam. He came back. They had you guys and then split up either before or after your mom made him leave.”

Jane sat up straight. “And they loved each other,” she insisted. “They were happy.”

Mike made a face. The mushy stuff didn’t appeal to him. He was focused on their mission. He ignored her and kept on going. “El, once your parents found out about your powers…your mom made you guys leave to keep you safe. You and your dad moved to the city. And now you’re here.”

“So they just broke up because you were in danger?” Max questioned as she leaned over the table to snatch the picture.

Jane spoke up before El could. “My mom thought they’d find her…if she went, too.”

Max frowned. “That’s doesn’t make any sense. If they were so in love, they wouldn’t they have stuck together?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out!” argued Mike.

Jane was sitting beside Max. She took the picture from her and held it to her chest. “They were fighting a lot. We saw them. Maybe…they were already unhappy...maybe that’s why she didn’t wanna go with him.” Doubts about her mother’s motives were starting to creep in and she couldn’t contain them.

Dustin’s mouth fell open. “That would be pretty messed up. Mrs. Byers, uh, your mom, she doesn’t seem like that.”

El crossed her arms and shot her sister a knowing look. “Mom was freaked out about me. We saw it.” Seeing how upset and unhinged her mother had become, it was hard not to feel bitter. She was convinced that the divorce was her fault, she just hadn’t been able to prove it yet. “For all we know, she made dad leave to get rid of me. You were the normal baby. You were easy…”

Jane’s brows furrowed. “No!” Whatever doubts she had about her mother, they didn’t extend to her mothering abilities. “She would never do that.”

“She lied to you all these years, Janie. We don’t know what she’d do.”

“Ellie, dad lied to you, too. We don’t know what either of them would do.”

Mike let the notebook fall to the table. The noise got their attention. “That’s our objective. If we find out why they lied to you guys, maybe we can find out why they broke up, too.”

“Do you have any other pictures or anything?” asked, Max. “Could you use them to find out more?”

“I’ve only got the one…” El gestured towards Jane, who still had the picture clutched to her chest.

“I don’t have any of dad…but I’ve got some of mom. Maybe that’ll work?”

Mike’s eyes lit up. “It’s worth a shot.”

Jane and El looked at each other. They were both in silent agreement. They would return to the willow tree, and try to find out more.

 

***

_Desperate to answer the phone before it woke up the baby, Joyce hurried into the kitchen. The voice on the other end was a shock to her senses. “Hopper?” Fearfully, she glanced around and then lowered her voice. “I told you not to call here anymore.”_

_“I know, I know, I know,” came his defeated reply._

_Joyce let out a frustrated sigh. “Are you okay? Is she…” she caught herself before saying too much and quickly corrected, “Is everything alright?” The phone lines couldn’t be trusted._

_“Yeah, yeah…everything’s fine. I just wanted to...I just wanted to hear your voice.”_

_“Hop…” Disappointment oozed from her lips. She ducked her head down to stare at the floor._

_“Just, listen…I just wanted to say that um, even after everything that happened, I don’t regret any of it. And those years we had together, they were everything to me.”_

_Joyce’s heart sank. “Are you sure you’re okay?”_

_Hopper paused for several long seconds. “Yeah. I just need you to know.”_

_The front door opened and then slammed shut, distracting her and waking up the baby. Soon, his loud cries echoed throughout the house._

_“Who’s on the phone, Joyce? Are you gonna deal with the baby or what? All he does is cry, I swear.”_

_Joyce covered the mouth piece with her hand and shot her husband a glare. “You woke him up, Lonnie! Shhh, Will, I’ll be there soon, sweetie.” Lonnie pointed to the phone and she cursed under her breath. She had forgotten about her ex-husband, still waiting on the line._

_“I’ve gotta go,” she told him. She was about to hang up, but Hopper’s angry tone kept her from doing so._

_“Lonnie? Lonnie Byers?” A bitter laugh erupted through the phone. “How long’s that been goin’ on?”_

_Joyce rolled her eyes. “Come on.”_

_“No wonder you wanted me gone,” he spat._

_The implication made her eyes water. “Hopper…” she argued. Overly aware that Lonnie’s intense gaze was fixed on her, she felt town between the two men. It was like high school, all over again._

_“You know what, just forget I called. Forget I said anything. Take care of my daughter. You know he won’t.”_

_The phone line when dead and all Joyce heard was a dial tone. She stared at the phone in shock, her fingers already moving to call him back. Before she completed the task, Lonnie’s hand came down on the hook and cut her off. “Are you gonna get the baby, or what?”_

_***_  
El stumbled back, breaking their connection and with it, their shared vision. Her body hummed with emotions, only, they weren’t her emotions. Her father’s anger pounded through her chest. Briefly, a feeling of hatred washed over her and she lashed out before she could stop herself. “Who’s Lonnie?”

Jane took a step back. The intensity of her sister’s anger made her wary. She clutched a picture of her and her mother tightly in her hand. “The guy mom married.”

“What?” yelled El. Her blood was still pulsing. Her chest was pounding. It was as if her father was right there with her. “We have a stepdad?” She put her hands over her face in disgust. “Why would she do that? He seems awful!”

“No, they’re divorced now. He left a long time ago.”

El was relieved to hear that. Slowly, she lowered her hands and her anger subsided. “Dad was pissed.” She tried to remember all the details, but they were already fading away. “Wait, the baby…Will…who is he?”

“Our brother. He’s six, now.”

“We have a little brother?” The idea both shocked and excited her.

Jane nodded. “And a step-brother. He’s older.” She pushed her hair behind her ears. “Jonathan is Lonnie’s son, but mom took him when he left.”

“Where’s his real mom?”

“She died. When he was born.”

El’s face fell. “That’s awful.”

“Yeah, he’s really awesome though. He takes care of us…when mom works late and all.”

A light rain started to fall. Raindrops splattered into their hideout and cooled their skin. El moved closer to the trunk of the tree, to get out of the rain, and Jane followed. “What’s she like? Mom, I mean.”

Jane didn’t know how to answer that. She thought for a long time over what to say. The more she found out, the more she realized that she didn’t really know her mother at all. It was a terrifying feeling. Still, despite all that, she told El the truth. “She’s great. She works a lot, she has to. But she’s always there when we need her.” Her chest ached as she began to feel slightly homesick. “Jonathan says she’s ‘high strung’ because she worries a lot.”

El wrapped her arms around herself. She hung onto her sister’s every word with longing. She had always wanted a mother and it made her sad to think that Jane had what she didn’t. “Why’d Lonnie leave?”

Jane shrugged. “He didn’t want a family…and he was awful to mom. Jonathan thinks she only married him because of Will. She thought he would stick around.”

“Jonathan knows a lot.”

“Yeah, he’s a good big brother. He really is.”

El kept her head down. She picked at the weeds that were growing at the bottom of the tree. “Do you think she’d like me?” Her question was barely audible above the rain. “Mom, I mean.”

Jane’s face twisted. “Of course she’d like you. You’re her daughter.”

“Yeah,” snorted El. “Her daughter, whose powers scared her and ruined her marriage.”

Jane didn’t have much to say to that. What they had learned so far, didn’t paint their mother in the best light. Still, a part of her refused to give up on her. She couldn’t. “We don’t know anything for sure.” Jane wrapped her arm around her. “We’ll keep trying. We’ll figure it out.”

***  
Miles away from the summer camp, Joyce stood at the kitchen sink washing dishes. She didn’t have much time, so her movements were rushed and efficient. Without warning, a stinging sensation crept up her legs and into her spine. It finally settled deep in her chest.

A wet glass slipped out of her hand and crashed against the floor as she gasped and clutched her chest. The stinging feeling moved to her head and then, suddenly, the room around her began to spin. Breathing hard, she shut her eyes, prayed for it to stop, but it only spun faster.

Images floated into her mind like a slideshow. They were indistinguishable at first, but then, they cleared, and all she saw was Jane. She was under a tree, with her arms wrapped around someone…someone who looked just like her.

With a cry, Joyce forced her eyes open and stepped back from the sink. Nearly slipping on the wet floor, she backed away in terror as the image continued in her head. The girls began to speak.

_“Do you think she’d like me? Mom, I mean.”_

_“Of course she’d like you. You’re her daughter.”_

“Jane?” cried Joyce. “El?” Violently, she shook her head, wanting it all to stop. What was happening to her? Had she finally lost her mind? “I’m not crazy…I’m not crazy,” she muttered, over and over until the girls disappeared in an instant. Just like that, her body felt fine again.

Confused, and shaking, she looked around in shock. What was going on? She didn’t understand. Feeling the sudden urge to move, Joyce fled the kitchen and raced towards her bedroom. There was something she needed to see. She knew exactly what she was looking for and she found it hidden under her bed in an old shoe box. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she pulled out the faded picture. Two identical infants stared back at her. She knew which was which, though. She had always known. Her fingers traced lightly over the one on the left. “El…”

Joyce gripped the picture as if her life depended on it and cried for a long time. She had never stopped thinking of the daughter she had lost. It was impossible to look at Jane without thinking of her sister. “I miss you so much.”

Slowly her breathing evened out and her tears slowed. “I’m just tired,” she whispered. “I just need some sleep.” Surely her tired mind was playing tricks her on. That was the only logical explanation for what had just happened.

Determine to pull herself together, Joyce swiped her tears away with her hand. When she brought her hand back down, she found it wet with bright red blood. On wobbly legs she stood up and made her way to the mirror, only to find that her nose was bleeding.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your kind comments. I'm blown away that so many of you are interested in this story. I've never written flashbacks like this and scenes out of order, so I'm really happy that it comes across well. This is a tough fic to write. It's turned out to be a lot more intricate than I thought it would be, but I'm really enjoying the challenge. 
> 
> There will be more present day Joyce and Hopper too, eventually. The girls will not stay at camp forever. And Jopper won't be in different states forever, either. 
> 
> Eventually, this fic is going to mold into Season 1 of ST. Though, it'll be an AU version, certain plot points will still exist.

_The living room was mostly dark. A tiny lamp in the corner illuminated Joyce’s stiff form from the couch. Headlights flashed across the windows, creating eerie shadows across the walls. As the car engine cut off, she suddenly stood up and crossed her arms._

_Things moved in slow motion as Hopper came inside and then stopped when he spotted her. “Joyce? You okay?” He dropped his work things to the floor and went towards her._

_“Yeah.”_

_“It’s late.” Hopper’s hands moved to her sweater clad arms as she shivered. “It’s freezing in here.”_

_“The heater crapped out again.”_

_Hopper groaned and then let go of her so that he could rub his hands together. “I’ll take care of it.” Noticing that she was still staring, he frowned. “What?”_

_Joyce nibbled at her nail. “Hop, I’m pregnant.”_

_His face gave nothing away. “You are?”_

_As she stumbled into an explanation, her teeth grazed across her bottom lip. “I…I know it’s a lot sooner than we thought…and…I know it’s gonna be tough –” Her words were cut off when he swiftly took her by the hips and pulled her towards him._

_“That’s amazing.”_

_“Really?”_

_“So amazing.” Hopper’s face brightened just before he pressed his lips against hers. He kissed her gently at first, but after a short time, his movements turned eager. She met them without hesitation and before long, he lifted her up into his arms as she wrapped her legs around his waist._

***

“Ew, ew, ew!” El shrieked. She yanked her hands away from her sister and made exaggerated gagging noises.

“Gross!” Jane too, was disgusted.

El swiped at her bleeding nose with little concern. “Why’d they have to go and do that?”

Outside their hiding spot, Mike called, “What happened?”

“What’s gross?” Dustin swept the willowy branches away and popped his head in.

The girls’ response was in unison. “Our parents.”

Mike pushed Dustin forward and the two stumbled inside. So far, no one at camp had discovered their hide out and they wanted to keep it that way.

“Were they sucking face?” Dustin asked.

El ignored him and focused on Jane. “Wait, did you break the vision that time or did I?”

“I think we both did.” Their powers were growing stronger, especially when they used them together. Jane still couldn’t move objects with her mind, but she could easily slip in and out of visions without being robbed of her energy.

Dustin pointed to them in exasperation. “So were they sucking face, or not?”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Why do you care?” He moved towards the twins with a determined look on his face. “Did you see anything important?”

Jane shut her eyes as the images floated back into her mind, along with the feelings. That time, she had felt her mother’s fear, hesitation, and happiness as if it were happening to her. It was a bit overwhelming. “She told him she was pregnant. They were happy about it.”

Mike’s brows crinkled. “That’s good, right?”

Dustin shoved Mike. “Of course it’s good.” El and Jane shot him identical puzzled looks, which made him throw his hands into the air. “Come on people. Pay attention. Now we know that you guys were wanted.” He used both of his hands to point at them. “They were happy about it, so that obviously didn’t break them up.”

“So what?” snapped Mike. “That doesn’t help.”

“It helps. For the timeline.”

“But we still know nothing.”

Jane quickly stood up for Mike. “He’s right. It’s not enough.”

With a sour look, El kicked at the dirt beneath her shoes. “We’ve only got two weeks left here and we still don’t know why he left. Or why they broke up.”

Mike took Jane’s hand and pulled her towards El. “We need more information. You’ve gotta keep trying.”

El narrowed her eyes. Her and Mike were rarely on the same page. “It’s not working!”

“You’re not focusing,” Dustin argued. “You’ve gotta keep trying.” The look on El’s face was pure fury and he stepped back when she took a threatening step towards him. “I’m just saying!”

Jane grounded her sister in place by taking her hand. “Ellie, we can try again.”

El didn’t argue, but she let her unhappiness be known. “I don’t wanna see that again, Janie. That was disgusting.”

“So they were sucking face?” Dustin blurted, but no one paid him any attention.

“We’ll think about something else.”

El wasn’t convinced. “Like what?”

Jane shrugged. “I don’t know. Like high school or something. They knew each other…maybe we can see when they met.”

El pondered that in silence for a few seconds, then, she took Jane’s other hand. “I doubt they were making out when they first met.”

Dustin whooped triumphantly. “I knew it!”

“Shut up!” Mike snapped. “Do you want us to wait outside?”

As their powers grew stronger, so did their bond. Whether the bond was forged through being twins or their powers, neither knew, but they liked it either way. One look at each other was all they needed to be on the same page. “You guys can stay,” responded Jane. “I don’t think we need to be alone anymore.”

The boys shared excited looks, but stayed completely silent as the girls concentrated. It took a long time, longer than usual, and just when they were ready to give up, the green leaves around them tilted, swirled, and eventually disappeared altogether.

***

_Footsteps pounded down the wooden staircase that led from the gymnasium as a young Hopper raced down. Jumping down the last two steps, he arrived at his destination quickly and then made a face when he noticed that the space beneath the staircase wasn’t empty. “Hey, what are you doing down here?”_

_An equally young Joyce rolled her eyes. “What’s it look like?”_

_Hopper looked her over in disdain, but moved into the hideout anyway. “Freshman can’t sit here.”_

_“You’re a freshman,” she dead-panned. Her eyes lingered on his letterman jacket with little interest._

_Chest puffed slightly out, he sat down and pulled out a cigarette. “I’m on the JV football team, though.”_

_Joyce rolled her eyes. “Good for you.” Her words were a perfect mix between sarcasm and annoyance._

_They ignored each other for a long time after that, but he lost the battle with his curiosity. “Hey, aren’t you that girl who went missing a couple years ago?”_

_Joyce let out a bitter sigh. “Yeah. Something like that.”_

_Hopper’s blue eyes looked her over again with renewed interest. “Oh yeah. It’s Joyce, right? Joyce Byers? The girl who got lost in the woods. I remember now.”_

_Joyce sent him a seething glare. “I didn’t get lost in the woods.”_

_“My parents helped look for you.”_

_“Are you stupid? I said I didn’t get lost!” Her voice rose, but not enough that she would be heard. It was clear that she did not want to be found under there. “Gimme that.” Before he could stop her, she reached over and snatched the cigarette right out of his hand._

_“Hey!”_

_Joyce took a nice slow drag and then handed it back to him with a mischievous smile. “I’m all out.”_

_His eyes narrowed and darkened, and they went back to sitting in silence until the bell rang._

***

The bell never stopped ringing. It rang and rang as the vision ended. For a second, Jane and El were thrust harshly back to the present, but then it faded away, just as quickly. Soon, they were back near the steps, except now, a light snow was falling around them. The pair beneath the steps were hidden from the wet flakes.

_“You still never told me what happened,” Hopper said. They sat side by side and their shoulders bumped together as they shivered._

_Joyce blew out puffs of smoke and then handed him the cigarette so that he could do the same. “Why would I tell you?”_

_“We’re friends.”_

_“Are we?”_

_Hopper shrugged and handed the cigarette back. “Course we are.”_

_Joyce inhaled and then coughed for so long that it made him chuckle. When she recovered, she punched him in the arm. “Could have fooled me.”_

_Playfully, he pushed her back and stole the cigarette. “Come on. Just tell me. If you didn’t get lost in the woods, then what happened?”_

_“Forget it. I shouldn’t have said that.”_

_“What? Why?”_

_The sound of a door creaking open made her jump. Her wide eyes looked around and her breathing sped up._

_“Hey, you alright? It’s just the wind.”_

_Hopper tried to comfort her, but her body began to shake and she stood up before he could stop her. “I’ve gotta go.”_

_“Where? Joyce, wait!” It was no use though. She was gone before his lanky body could get up._

***

Normally their vision would have ended by now. But this time, neither girl backed out. They held onto each other tightly and let their minds shift the scene around them until they were back with their teenage parents.

_Joyce and Hopper sat on the dock of a lake with their feet dangling in the water. Every so often he would lift his foot out of the water to splash her and then she would do the same until they both erupted in laughter._

_“Your girlfriend’s gonna flip out when she finds out we went to Lover’s Lake.”_

_Hopper shook his head. “Chrissy’s not my girlfriend.”_

_Swiftly, Joyce’s foot sailed through the water and landed on his leg. He used his own to shove her back until their feet were tangled in a game of footsy. “I heard you got caught making out in your dad’s car.”_

_His cheeks reddened and it was clear that it was not from the sun beating down upon him. “We were just hangin’ out.” Joyce clicked her tongue in disbelief. Their feet were still moving, splashing water up their bare legs. “I’m serious. She’s not my girlfriend.”_

_Her lips were pressed into a stern line. “You took her to the Snowball.”_

_Hopper’s foot stilled. He turned his body towards her so that their eyes could meet. “Cause’ I couldn’t take you.”_

_Ever so slightly, her bottom lip quivered and she ran her teeth over it to make it stop. “You never asked me.”_

_“You said you didn’t wanna go…”_

_Joyce’s eyes glistened. She grabbed his hand and pulled it into her lap. “You’re an idiot, Jim Hopper.”_

_Sheepishly, he grinned and squeezed her hand. “Uh, will you go with me this year?”_

_“It’s only July.”_

_“If I ask you now, then no one else can.”_

_Joyce cocked her head to the side. Her dark hair fell just to her chin and glistened in the sun. “I wouldn’t say yes to anyone else.”_

_“So you’ll go with me?” Eagerly, he watched as she nodded in acceptance. Too happy to contain himself, he slid off the dock and into the water. His long arms quickly started pulling her down with him._

_“Don’t you dare!” she screamed. But she wasn’t angry when she eventually landed in the water and then….into his arms._

_They swam and splashed and flirted until the sun started its slow descent across the horizon. “We better go before the bugs come out,” Hopper told her. He swam towards the dock, but stopped when he realized she wasn’t behind him. “You coming?”_

_Deep in thought, Joyce looked around the deserted lake before swimming towards him. “Do you still wanna know what happened to me?”_

_“You mean, when you didn’t get lost?” Hopper teased. When she didn’t react, his features turned serious. “Yeah, I do.”_

_She swam up close so that she could talk in a whisper. “I was never lost. They took me…and when they let me go, they made my parents make up this whole stupid story about how I got lost in the woods.”_

_The sky had turned a vibrant shade of pink. It reflected off the water and off their eyes. “Who?”_

_“Hawkins Lab.”_

_Joyce shivered and Hopper pulled her towards him. Their bodies bobbed up and down and against each other as he tried to touch the bottom to keep their balance. “Why would they do that? Don’t they just make energy up there?” There wasn’t a hint of disbelief in his tone._

_Wrapping her arms tightly around his upper body, she rested her head against his shoulder. “Yeah, and they do experiments on people.”_

_This time, it was Hopper who shivered. “What kind of experiments?”_

_“I don’t remember….but I know they’re bad.”_

_“Why’d they let you go, then?”_

_“They couldn’t use me. Whatever they’re doing...I wasn’t right for it.”_

_He didn’t say anything for a long time and her face fell in disappointment. “It’s okay if you don’t believe me. I figured you wouldn’t.”_

_“I believe you,” he told her, with his head resting against hers. “I’ll always believe you.”_

***

When El and Jane came back to the present, the shock of it sent them tumbling to the ground. They sat facing each other, wide eyed and out of breath for a long time. The boys called out to them, but neither answered. They were too connected to what they had just seen. They didn’t want it to end just yet.

“Jesus Christ! Are you guys okay?” Dustin snapped. He was behind El while Mike was beside Jane. “What happened?”

“Can you talk?”

It was Mike’s voice that pulled Jane back to reality. “We’re okay.”

Mike’s brows furrowed in concern. “You were gone a long time.”

Dustin shook El’s shoulders and El quickly pulled away. “Get off me.”

“I was just checking on you.”

“I’m fine.”

Before the pair could start another round of fighting, Jane stood up and silenced them with her words. “We saw our parents meet in high school.”

El suddenly remembered the rest of the visions. “What’s Hawkins Lab?”

Dustin answered first. “It’s a facility back home. Nobody goes in there.”

“My dad says they make weapons there. To fight the Russians. Why?”

The twins looked to each other. When El spoke, she kept her focus on her sister. “Mom told dad that Hawkins Lab took her, and then made everyone believe she got lost in the woods.”

Jane nodded. “She said they do experiments on people.”

“They let her go. They couldn’t use her.” El had always been quick thinking. She easily put the pieces together. “But they could have used me.”

“The bad people,” whispered Jane, with wide eyes. “That’s them.”

The implication hit the group hard. They were finally getting somewhere.


	10. Chapter 10

Hawkins, Indiana

A lot of sleep was hard to come by with three kids, but with Jane at camp, Joyce had been sleeping even less than usual. Coated in sweat formed by her sweltering house, she tossed and turned and tried to get comfortable. Around midnight, when she finally managed to drift off, her mind conjured up a long forgotten memory that played out in her head like a movie.

***

  
_“Joyce, what are you doing? Just calm down, alright?” Hopper’s tone was brisk and one that he usually reserved for his police work._

_With a toddler perched on each hip, she paced up and down the long hallway. “They followed me all the way from the drug store.”_

_“Who?”_

_“The men from that…that lab! I saw them. They pulled up the driveway in their white van. The same one from the other day.”_

_Hopper walked towards her with his hands held out as if his hands alone could stop her rapid pacing. “Joyce, there’s no one out there. I checked. I even drove down the road a ways.”_

_Red splotches appeared across her cheeks. “They were here, Hop! I saw them an hour ago.”_

_Hopper looked the twins up and down, mentally assessing the situation. Despite their slightly hysterical mother, they were oddly content in her arms. Carefully, he said, “I’m sure you’re not being followed.”_

_Joyce shook her head in frustration. “You think I’m making this up? They were out there. They’re after her. They wanna take my baby.”_

_“I didn’t say that. It’s just...they couldn’t possibly know about El. There’s no way.”_

_“They must have spies at the hospital.” Joyce looked around in paranoia. “Or they’re watching us.”_

_Having heard enough, he ran his hand through his hair and then turned around. From his position, he could see that all the curtains were tightly drawn across every window. Not a speck of light was getting through. With a worried frown, he turned back towards her and shook his head. “Sometimes when I don’t sleep for a while I start feeling paranoid, too. This whole thing with El is probably just getting to you. It’s okay.”_

_Joyce’s brown eyes flashed in anger. “You’re talking about stress? No…this isn’t stress. El’s in danger. I know it.” As her voice rose in pitch, the ceiling light flickered and they both looked up in confusion._

_“Damn lightbulb. I already replaced it once.” When he looked at Joyce, he found that her features had drained of all color._

_“They’re watching me.” Her lips trembled as she struggled to get the rest out. “She’s not safe. They’re gonna take her.”_

_Frightened, but not for the same reasons that she was, Hopper stepped towards her. “It’s okay. No one is taking anyone.”_

_Tears trickled down her cheeks as she shook her head. “Why don’t you believe me? I’m not crazy, Hop. I’m not.”_

_As she began to cry, the girls stirred in her arms. First El, and then Jane. They patted their tiny hands against her cheeks and babbled unintelligible words of comfort. The sight, caused a painful noise to erupt from his throat._

_“I’m not sayin’ you’re crazy. You just need to get some sleep. Here, let me take them.” He gently tried to pull the girls away, but they each wrapped their arms around Joyce’s neck and refused to go. “Girls, come on, let mommy sleep.”_

_The girls let out equal shrieks until he took his hands away. Joyce was beyond upset. Her voice was almost hysterical and her eyes were wild. “You can’t take them.”_

_“Joyce.”_

_“You can’t!” She backed up from him as if he were a threat._

_“I’m not takin’ them.”_

_“You are!”_

_Visibly shaken, Hopper held up his hands in surrender. “Okay. Okay...let’s just calm down.” He watched as she turned around and went into their bedroom. She didn’t shut the door, so he waited a few seconds and then slowly followed._

_With the girls still in her arms, Joyce sat down on the edge of the bed. “You don’t believe me.” No longer crying, the words oozed with nothing but disappointment. She looked at him long enough to see the truth there, in his eyes, and then quickly looked at the ground. “You said you’d always believe me.”_

_Hopper pinched the bridge of his nose. “I just wanna keep you safe. All of you.”_

_“From me.”_

_“Joyce. Please.” he pleaded. “You need to sleep.”_

_“You think I’m crazy.” When he didn’t respond, she sniffled and refused to look at him. The girls too, kept their eyes stubbornly turned away. “Go.” The words left her lips and when she finally looked back up, he was gone._

***

  
Joyce woke up with a start. Her dream – no – her memory, was still fresh in her mind. It wasn’t the first time it had plagued her, and it wouldn’t be the last. It was hard to let go of the defining moment in a her first failed marriage.

In the dark, she glanced around her bedroom. Aside from a few things, it was virtually the same as it used to be. Lonnie hadn’t cared enough to make changes and she was far too strapped for cash to worry about decorating.

For a few minutes, she tried and failed to catch her breath. Sleep would not be happening tonight. Quietly, she got out of bed and crept around the house. Out of habit, she listened outside Jonathan’s door for the mumble of his headphones that he had likely fallen asleep with. She checked on Will, who had stolen his sister’s bed as his own, and then found herself alone, in the kitchen.

A sense of foreboding settled in her stomach as she thought about her daughters. Was Jane okay at camp? Was El okay in New York? She had thought about El more and more lately and she was positive that her imagination was running wild. She kept seeing her girls together, in her head. If it wasn’t her imagination, what else could it be? Unless…Hopper was right all along. Maybe she really was crazy.

Joyce could have sat down and had a cigarette. She could have made some tea or read a book. But instead, she went to the phone. Her memory and her restless heart propelled her to dial the number that she knew from memory. It was far too dangerous to write it down.

Her fingers threaded the old yellow cord as the call connected and the dial tone echoed loudly through her ears. With each ring, her throat grew tighter and tighter. It had been 6 months since her last call, but only 4 months since his. She held out longer than him. She considered that a victory. Finally, he picked up. His hello came in a breathless mumble and her legs began to shake.

“Hi Hop,” came her hesitant greeting.

“Joyce,” came his curt retort.

Feeling suddenly silly for being the one to call, she looked down at her bare feet. “I…I had a bad feeling. I just wanted to make sure…you know…that everything’s okay.”

He let out a sigh, but it was one of relief and not annoyance. “Everything’s good. Everything okay over there?”

This, this odd slightly coded ritual, was the extent of their conversations. They were always brief, always cautious, and always void of any details. It had to be that way. At least, that’s what they told themselves.

“It’s good. We’re good.”

Hopper cleared his throat. “Good.” Then as an afterthought, he added, “I’m glad.”

They stayed on the line for a few seconds, listening to the sounds of their breathing, before he ended the call without much preamble. Hopper was always the one to end their calls. He had never forgiven her…for the divorce…and for Lonnie. A part of her had never forgiven herself, either.

Joyce’s legs were still shaking when she put the phone back on the hook and then ungracefully slid down the wall until her bottom hit the floor. The day that Hopper stopped believing in her was the point of no return for their relationship. He didn’t understand that kind of betrayal. He never had and maybe, he never would.


	11. Chapter 11

With only a week left of camp, and still no concrete answer as to what happened with their parents, the twins were disappointed. Their friends were too, but they were hell bent on coming up with a plan. Unfortunately for El and Jane, the plan that they had come up with…wasn’t an easy one.

“It’ll never work,” huffed Jane. She was waste high deep in the cool lake water. Small waves rippled around her hips as she turned to face Max. “We could never pull that off.”

“You’re identical twins. No one would know you’d switched places.”

Jane shook her head. Mike, Dustin, Max, Lucas, and El were all intently watching her, but she refused to cave under the pressure. “We don’t even look that much alike.”

Max scoffed. “If you changed your hair you would.”

“I’m not dying my hair purple!”

There were a lot of other people swimming in the lake, so they had to keep their voices down to avoid being heard. It was easy to do. They were used to secrets now.   

El waded towards her. “If you cut your hair and I dyed mine brown…”

“Ellie! They’ve nuts. Don’t listen to them.”

“Are they?” El challenged. “Our parents don’t know we’re here together. They would never expect us to know each other, let alone switch places.” Jane opened her mouth to protest, but El beat her to it. “You can teach  _ me _ to be you and I’ll teach  _ you _ to be me.”

Jane shivered as a mild breeze swept over her wet body. She looked up the sky to see dark clouds rolling in. The weather reflected her mood. She hated the idea, that much was clear, but if anyone could persuade her, it was her sister. “I dunno…”

El grabbed Jane’s hands and clasped them into her own. “Come on, Janie, please,” she begged, with an exaggerated pout. “I’ve gotta see mom. And you’ve gotta see dad.”

Their friends shot looks at each other as they listened closely. No one dared to speak up. They all realized what an important moment it was.

Jane’s teeth worried over her bottom lip. “It’s too dangerous. What if the bad people find out you’re in Hawkins?”

“They won’t. You can work on getting information from dad and I’ll work on getting some from mom. You’re a lot stronger now…you’ve been practicing, your powers will work without me around. I know it.”  

Jane let out a sigh. Even as El’s confidence radiated through her, she still felt wary. “And what are we supposed to do once they find out we switched? Mom will freak out.”

El shrugged. “So will dad.” Her forehead scrunched up as a sudden idea came to her. She could barely stand still as her eyes brightened. “Once they find out we’ve switched...they’ll have to switch us back…and they’ll have to see each other to do it.” Grinning, she watched as realization dawned on her sister. “And when they see each other again, they’ll remember how much they loved each other.”

This was something that Jane had never thought of and she couldn’t help but get slightly excited. “You think it would work?”

El wrapped her arms around her. “Yes. It has to.” Her brown eyes silently begged as their friends came closer.

“We’ll keep her safe, in Hawkins,” Mike told Jane. “Those bad people won’t find out about her.”

Lucas pulled his slingshot out of the pocket of his bathing suit. “And if they do, we’ll be ready.”

A small smile parted Jane’s lips as she stared at everyone and then slowly nodded in acceptance. The opportunity to see her father again, in real life, was too good to pass up.

“Yes!” exclaimed El. Normally she was the calmer of the two, but she jumped up and down in excitement.

One by one, Max intently studied their facial features. She compared every freckle, dimple, and crease and then touched their hair. “Come on then, we’ve got a lot of work to do…”

***

One Week Later

In the large crowd of people, buses, and cars, the twins held each other tightly as they said goodbye. They looked more identical than ever with their brown hair that fell just above their shoulders.

After a week of preparation, they felt ready to leave camp and get on with their plan, but the idea of leaving each other…was tough on both of them. El’s voice quivered as she said, “Good luck. Remember, just follow dad’s rules and it’ll be fine.”

“What if I forget them?”

El smirked. “Impossible. He’ll remind you every day. It’ll be fine.”

Jane took a deep breath and squeezed her sister tighter. “Don’t forget to tell Will the plan. No one else, not even Jonathan.”

“I won’t.”

Ms. Heather, the camp leader, bellowed over her loudspeaker, “El Hopper, your car’s here. El Hopper, last call.”

Reluctantly, the girls pulled away. Jane used her hand to wipe her wet cheeks and gasped when she noticed the turquoise hair tie on her wrist. “Shit, here. You’ve gotta take this.” She hurriedly yanked it off and handed it to El.”

“But, you never take it off.”

“El Hopper! Let’s go,” Ms. Heather yelled.

“Exactly!” Jane said. “You’ve gotta wear it.” She hugged El one last time, waved somberly at her Hawkins friends, and then dashed towards the waiting taxi.

Max grabbed El’s hand. “Come on,  _ Jane Byers _ . Our bus is over there.” She pointed towards the big yellow school bus, but El couldn’t take her gaze off of her sister’s taxi as it pulled away. The last time they were separated it had taken them 9 years to see each other again, but she knew that wouldn’t be the case this time. Everything would change. It had to.

***

El glanced around the school parking lot. Her friends – no  _ Jane’s  _ friends – had already found their parents, so she was alone in a mass of people. Desperately trying to see above the tall heads, she stood on her tiptoes and looked around. She didn’t need a picture to know what her mother looked like. The visions were still crisp and clear in her mind. El found a bench to stand on, to get a better look, but then sat down with a sigh when she still couldn’t see anything.

“I don’t think your mom’s here yet,” said Mrs. Wheeler. When El didn’t respond, she frowned. “Jane, are you alright? I’m sure she’ll be here soon.”

Behind his mother’s back, Mike motioned towards her. “ _ Jane,”  _ he reminded.

Realizing her mistake, she shook off her confusion and placated Mrs. Wheeler with a smile. “I’m okay.” Her eyes roamed to Mike’s little sister before moving back to him. He shot her another warning look.

With a sweet smile, the woman put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Do you want us to wait with you until she gets here?”

“Oh no, I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure? It’s no trouble.” She looked around for any sign of Joyce, completely missing the panicked look that Mike and El shared.

“Mom, I’m starving…can we go? She’ll be fine, right Jane?”

At his words, she looked at her son in surprise. “Michael, that’s rude.”

El stood up. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I’m sure she’s on her way. I’m used to being by myself anyway.” Mike widened his eyes at her. “Um, waiting, I mean. I’m used to waiting.”

Mrs. Wheeler’s perfectly styled hair barely moved as she tilted her head. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“She’s sure mom. Please…can we go?” Mike pulled at her arm. He was desperate to get away before Joyce came. He didn’t want to slip up in front of her.

“Okay…if you’re sure.” She dug through her purse for some coins and then pressed them into El’s hand. “You’ve got our number. Use the pay phone over there to call us if she doesn’t come soon, okay?” El nodded, but didn’t respond. Mrs. Wheeler stared at her for a few seconds with furrowed brows. “You’re so quiet. Camp must have worn you out, huh?”

Mike let out a fake laugh. “Oh, yeah, yeah…she’s tired. I’m tired too…that’s why we need to go.”

El forced herself to fake a smile. If Mike’s mom was seeing the difference, what would her own mother think? Pretending to be her sister was going to be a lot harder than she thought.

When they finally left, El was left alone to worry over that, and other things. What if…her mother didn’t like her? “Please like me. Please like me.” She whispered, over and over, like a mantra.

The waiting was excruciating, but it wasn’t long before a lime green car darted around the lot and came to a screeching stop half way into a parking spot. El watched as a petite woman practically tumbled out of the car. She slammed the door shut and then looked around until she spotted what she was searching for. 

On wobbly legs, El stood up. “Mom.” She wasn’t prepared for the emotions that took over upon seeing her in real life. Tears welled up and her throat burned.

Joyce raced towards her. “Oh Sweetie, I’m so sorry. I tried to get here sooner but Donald was being a real jerk.” Instead of hugging her right away, Joyce put her hands on her cheeks and took her in. “I missed you.” Tears slid out of El’s eyes and Joyce made a sad noise as she wiped them away. “Don’t cry, baby.”

El sniffled and wrapped her arms around her. “I missed you so much.”

Joyce buried her head in her daughter’s hair, but as she did so, a strange feeling crept up her spine. Something felt off. Something felt…different. Her fingers tingled as she rubbed her back. Pulling away in confusion, she looked at her again.

El held her breath as her mother studied her with a faraway look in her eyes. “Mom, are you okay?” She was afraid of what the answer might be. Could she know already?

Finally, Joyce shivered and then shook her head. “Yeah, I just…for a second there…” she smiled as her words trailed off. “Never mind. It’s silly.” A tiny gasp escaped her throat when she noticed her hair. “Janie, you cut your hair.”

“Do you like it?”

“I do!” Joyce wrapped her arm around her shoulders and led her to the car. “Come on, let’s get you home. Will’s so excited to see you. He’s been talking about it for days. What do you want for dinner?”

El tried not to shiver as they walked to the car. Every nerve in her body tingled, as if an electrical charge was running between her and her mother. It was the same feeling that she often had with Jane. “Do we have any Eggos?”

Joyce led her to the passenger side of the car with a confused frown. “The frozen waffles? Where’d you have Eggos?”

El tried not to panic. Were Eggos not a thing in Indiana? “At camp.”

“Oh.” The lines across her forehead smoothed out. “You usually hate frozen food.”

“We um…we had them a lot at camp. They’re really good.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want to eat? You know your brother can make you real waffles.”

“Jonathan?”

Again Joyce’s brows furrowed. A sinking feeling sank into her gut, but she couldn’t figure out why. “Honey, are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, mom.”

“Did something happen at camp?”

“I’m okay. I promise.” El smiled as they both got in the car. It wasn’t a lie. She was fine. More than fine, actually. The car started and she turned her head to the window as they left the parking lot. It was a funny feeling, to feel like a stranger in the town she was born in.

“Alright, well, we’ll stop and get you some Eggos on the way home. The windows were down, letting the hot air in and blowing their hair in all directions. El shifted her gaze from the scenery, to her mother. Out of the corner of her eye, Joyce noticed, and smiled. “Did you forget what I looked like?”

El shook her head. “I’ve remembered my whole life.”

Joyce let out a tiny laugh. “I would hope so.”

El’s cheeks turned pink and she clamped her mouth shut to keep from saying anything else. It would be a miracle if she lasted the night without getting caught.

***

Jane couldn’t stop her limbs from shaking as she followed the mass of people off of the plane. Her first time flying had been a terrifying experience, but arriving in New York City was even more so. People of all races, shapes, and sizes rushed around pushing, shoving, and sometimes yelling. It was a far cry from her small hometown and she was immediately overwhelmed.

Her eyes welled with tears as she stopped in the center of the room. How would she ever find her father? How would he ever find her? Everyone was taller than her. Her breaths came in panicked gulps as her chest clinched in fear. People ran into her and bags bumped against her, but she couldn’t move. Her legs felt like they were bolted to the floor.

“Hey, kid! Over here!” A booming voice carried over the sea of people. 

Jane followed the sound until she spotted a tall, burly man effortlessly maneuvering towards her. Dressed in his blue police uniform, she didn’t recognize him until he got closer. “Dad.” Relief washed over her and she bounded into his arms before she could stop herself.

Caught off guard by the show of affection, his upper limbs forgot to move. When he recovered, he wrapped them around her and held her tight. “I’m so glad you’re back, El.”

All at once, the rubber hand holding her emotions together snapped and she began to cry. Her body quivered against his, causing him to pull away.

“Hey…what’s goin’ on?” His bushy brows furrowed, but his blue eyes softened. “What’s wrong?” Hopper looked her over and then glanced around suspiciously. “Did somebody do somethin’ to you?” His grip tightened on her shoulders as his veins filled with adrenaline.

Jane swiped at her wet cheeks. “I just…I just missed you so much, dad.”

He couldn’t hide his surprise. “You did?”

Shyly, she looked at him and then down at her feet that were clad in El’s black high top sneakers. “Yeah.”

Hopper grinned. “I missed you too, kid. You’ve got no idea. Now let’s get out of here. I hate this place.”

Feeling safe and secure for the first time all day, Jane finally smiled and then grabbed his arm so that she wouldn’t get lost in the shuffle. He led her to baggage claim, where they waited for what seemed like an eternity, and then to a waiting taxi.  

She couldn’t keep her eyes off of the scenery around her as the car jolted them around the bustling streets. Everything was so big, so hectic, so…alive. It was amazing.

“So, how was camp? Is science your new favorite subject?” teased Hopper.

Jane had her face pressed up against the window and was distracted when she responded, “It’s been my favorite subject for years.” She missed the funny face that her father made.

“What?”

Jane’s chest suddenly tightened as she realized that she had screwed up. “I’m joking.” She faked a few laughs and tried not to freak out. “You know I hate science, dad.”

Hopper smirked. “Which is exactly why I sent you to science camp.”

Filled with excitement and overwhelmed with the love she felt for her father, her face brightened. “Thanks for letting me go.”

“Letting you go?” With a confused frown, he touched her forehead. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You just…you were so mad about going to that camp.” His upper body bumped into hers as the driver took a sharp turn. Protectively, he reached out to keep her in place. The protectiveness made her feel safer than ever before and she leaned into his touch.

Enjoying the attention that he rarely received from her anymore, Hopper rested his chin on her forehead. “But, I’m glad you’re home. And I’m glad you had fun.”

“It was awesome.”

Hopper let out a low chuckle. “Something’s different about you Ellie, and I don’t just mean your hair.”

Jane spotted the turquoise hair tie on his wrist and her breath hitched. Just like her, after all these years, he still wore it. Tears filled her eyes again and she was glad that he couldn’t see it. “I changed a lot at camp.” It was hard to keep her voice from breaking, but somehow she managed.

“I don’t hate it,” he mused. “This new you.”

Jane shut her eyes and tried hard not to cry in relief. “I’m glad.


	12. Chapter 12

El quickly learned that dinner at the Byers’ house was a rather hectic affair. The boys were rowdy, as Jonathan voiced his disapproval over the frozen waffles and Will bounced around in excitement of her homecoming. Joyce was eager to hear all about camp, and her level of interest wasn’t something that El was used to.

Overwhelmed by the house that so far, had yet to be silent, El busied herself with eating in the hopes that a full mouth would keep her from having to talk. It worked, but not on Will.

“What are you staring at?”

Shyly, Will ducked his head down, but then looked up again. “You look different, Jane.”

Beads of sweat broke out across her palms. “No…no I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

Her eyes narrowed into a full on glare. “I do not.”

At her angry tone, Will’s eyes widened and then left hers for good. His shoulders slumped inward as he sank down in his chair.

El’s panic soon turned to remorse, but she didn’t have a chance to apologize before Joyce patted his back and encouraged him to sit up. “She just got home, baby. Give her some space.”

Across the table, Joyce offered her a supportive smile. Staring at her mother, she felt more exposed than ever. It took all of her courage to keep her head up and her words steady. “I’m  
sorry, I just…I’m really tired.”

Empathetically, Joyce nodded. “Of course you are.” She reached over and grabbed her hand. “It’s okay. You can get a good night’s sleep tonight, in your own bed.”

The skin to skin contact felt like both fire and ice at once. Her hand felt full of energy. A brief flash of shock erupted in Joyce’s eyes and then disappeared just as quickly and El wondered…could she feel it, too?

***

Later that night, in Jane’s bed, El lay wide awake. It was warm in the room, but she had the sheet pulled up to her neck anyway. The fabric was soft, softer than anything she had at home and it smelled better, too. Breathing in and out and in and out, she inhaled the flowery scent, so  
that she’d never forget it.

Above her, Will wasn’t asleep. She could tell by the way the bed shook whenever he moved. She had promised Jane that she would tell him everything, but that promise was a lot harder to keep in reality. How could she even begin to explain it?

She didn’t have to think long on it. The next thing she knew, the bed shifted and Will’s head appeared over the side. “You’re not Jane, are you?” His question barely sounded like one at all. Thrown completely off guard, El stared at him without saying anything for a long time. “You’re Ellie.”

“How’d you know?” gasped El.

“I just knew.”

His words made her nervous. If he figured it out, how long did she have until others did as well? “Do you…do you think mom knows?”

“No.”

“What about Jonathan?”

Will rested his head against the mattress, obscuring his eyes from hers. “No. Just me.”

El grabbed fistfuls of sheet and tried to stay calm. “That’s good. Jane said no one can know. No one, but you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you,” she chuckled. Having siblings was a totally new experience. She didn’t know what to say or how to behave, especially with Jonathan. So far though, with Will, things felt really natural…as if he had been in her life forever.

The little boy thought about that for a few minutes before he rolled onto his back. “Do you have a mission? Is that why you’re here?”

“Yeah, a big mission. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. Mike knows, too. And Dustin. We just need to find a place to hide.”

“Castle Byers,” stated Will. El made a face, even though he couldn’t see her. “It’s in the woods. Jonathan and Jane and me…we built it last year.”

“Does mom know about it?”

“Yeah, but she won’t bother us.”

El let the covers slip from her grasp as exhaustion took over. “That’ll work.” Her eyes fluttered shut, only to fly back open when the bed shook as Will turned over. “What are you doing up there?”

“Ellie?” his voice was soft and shaky.

“Yeah?”

“Where’s my sister?” he choked out. “Is she okay?”

The emotion in his voice left her suddenly wide awake. “She’s in New York, with my dad.”

His breaths came quick and loud as he tried not to cry. “Is she coming back?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, my dad won’t let anything happen to her.”

There was silence for a few seconds as the boy tried to keep his emotions in check. Boys weren’t supposed to cry, that’s what his teacher told him, and the other kids at school. “Are you sure?”

El didn’t hesitate. “Yes. He’s the best dad…and he’s a cop. He fights bad guys.” At the moment, she wasn’t confident in many things, except that. “She’ll be safe there.”

Will sniffled and sighed and eventually accepted her statement as a fact. Several minutes went by before he spoke again. “Ellie?”

“Yeah?”

“I like having two sisters.”

It was El’s turn to keep her emotions in check. She bit her lip in an attempt to stop the tears before they started. “I like having two brothers.”

***  
Across the hall, Joyce tossed and turned. When she eventually fell asleep, her mind slipped into a fitful dream that eventually…morphed into a memory…one that she had spent years repressing.

_“Six…you know what happens when you don’t cooperate,” the graying haired doctor told her. Buried beneath his sickeningly sweet tone was the ever looming threat of being thrown back into the dark place._

_Joyce, young and waif like, ran a hand over her freshly shaved head and yanked the wires away. “Don’t call me that.”_

_Unflinching, he watched her from across the table. “That’s your name, Six.”_

_“It’s Joyce. My name’s Joyce.”_

_Dressed in all white, he looked like a mad scientist. He reached across the shiny steel table_   
_and pushed an empty Coke can towards her. “You’ve got a special gift, Six. One that the rest of the world can’t understand. You’ll be safe here. We’re your family now. Your real family. No one can understand you the way that we can.”_

_His eyes glanced between her and the can and then he nodded in encouragement. “We’ve been watching you, Six. We know what you can do. Don’t be afraid to show us.”_

_Joyce caught a glimpse of her reflection in the metal table. Her bruised cheeks and bloody nose shocked her. She couldn’t feel any pain. She was too numb for that._

_Her wrists were tied behind her back. She resisted against the restraints until her skin was_ _broken and raw. “Let me go. I can’t do anything. I already told you.” She had been held captive for three days so far and her confidence was starting to wane._

_“We both know that’s not true.”_

_“You don’t know anything!” she snapped. “You’re crazy.”_

_With a dramatic sigh, the man stood up. “Denial can play tricks on the mind, Six.” He motioned_ _towards the windows and then two security guards rushed into the room._

_“Yes, Dr. Brenner?” The older one asked._

_Dr. Brenner gave her one last chance to change her mind. When she glared in response, he shrugged in disappointment. “Back to Isolation Room 2, I’m afraid and this time, no food.”_

_Joyce’s mouth fell open in terror. “No!”_

_His cold, menacing eyes fell upon her. “I think 12 hours should rid you of some of that denial,_   
_don’t you think?”_

_Tears streamed down her cheeks as she began to cry. “No! No! Let me go you son of a bitch. I_ _wanna go home!” Dr. Brenner left the room as her screams grew in intensity. The guards harshly yanked her out of her chair and started to drag her petite frame away. “No! No! Don’t put me back in there. Please!” She screamed and screamed and screamed, but it didn’t matter. Soon, she was back in the dark place and all alone._

Joyce woke up with a strangled cry. Her bedroom was so dark…so quiet. It took her way too long to realize that she wasn’t back at the lab. Panic crept to the edge of her senses and threatened to overtake over. There was nothing she could do to stop the way her throat constricted and her chest tightened. Quiet sobs escaped her throat as her breathing sped up and her limbs began to shake. All she could do was ride it out, and hope for the best.


	13. Chapter 13

Beneath half closed eyelids, Jane was aware of her father’s shadow, looming inside her bedroom doorway. Shutting her eyes tight, she clutched her stuffed tiger to her chest and rolled away from him.

He stood there for quite some time before speaking up. “I know you’re awake.” His voice was rough and sleepy. “Breakfast’s ready. I made your favorite.”

In curiosity, her eyes slid open. She left the tiger behind as she turned back around. “My favorite?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot about our Ego Extravaganza…”

Below the covers, her fingers clenched into a tightly wound ball. Thinking fast, she rolled her eyes and hoped that her response was believable. “I was just testing to see if you remembered.”

Hopper’s gaze drifted to the floor as his fingers scratched absentmindedly at his stubble. After a few long seconds, he straightened up. “Well, let’s go. Unless you want me to eat it by myself…and I’ll probably have a heart attack too...from all the chocolate. ”

The idea of chocolate for breakfast excited Jane, and she sat up with a grin. “I’ll be right there.”

Unfortunately, her excitement wore off when the frozen waffle was placed in front of her. Practically giddy, Hopper topped it with whip cream, candy, and chocolate syrup. He eagerly dug into his own, while she watched in complete confusion.

With a mouth half full, he mumbled, “What’s wrong?”

Jane felt her stomach churn, but this time, it wasn’t from anxiety, it was from the overly sweetened breakfast. El loved this kind of thing, but Jane…did not. The more she learned about her sister, the more she noticed their differences. Would her father notice, too? Swallowing hard, she took her time cutting each piece and then took the smallest bites she could. “Nothing,” she lied.

Luckily, Hopper was too preoccupied with his own breakfast to notice. When he finished plate, he rested his arms on the small table and stared at her. “Where’d you get that stuffed animal?”

“Which one?”

“That uh…that tiger. The one you had in your bed.”

Jane’s fork stopped mid-way to her mouth. He had a funny look on his face, one that she couldn’t easily read. “A girl I met at camp, she gave it to me.” The lie left her lips so fast that she amazed even herself.

Hopper’s forehead creased. “She gave it to you?”

Her pulse was racing, but somehow, her hands were steady. Nonchalantly, she took a bite of her food. “She wanted me to have it.”

“She did?” Like a true cop, he spoke with careful words. “Why would she give you something like that?”

Jane shrugged and did her best to act natural. Before leaving camp, the girls had obsessed over hair color, clothing, names, and places, but not their favorite sleeping companions. If he was fixating on the tiger…would her mother fixate on El’s stuffed bear?

Hoping to distract him, she forced herself to eat some big bites. “We’re friends. Her name’s Mildred. She’s a lovely girl.”

Hopper’s eyebrows rose practically to his head. “A lovely girl?” Jokingly, he reached for her head to check her temperature and she didn’t pull away, not even when he ruffled her hair. “You weren’t kiddin’ when you said you changed at camp.”

“I told you,” Jane insisted, with a smirk. She let out a relieved sigh when he got up from the table and didn’t mention the tiger again.

***

Later that morning, Hopper went to work and Jane found herself alone in the apartment. He promised to be back by 5:15, and she had no choice but to agree. As she took inventory of the place, the quietness unnerved her. The bustling streets below were full of life and people, unlike her current surroundings.

The apartment was small, generic, and sparsely furnished. If it weren’t for El’s colorfully decorated bedroom, there would be no evidence that a child lived there at all. There were a few pictures of El on the mantel and Jane scanned them with interest, making sure to memorize each and every one. There were no pictures of Hopper…or anyone else, a fact that made her suddenly sad and full of confusion.

Her confusion intensified when she made her way to the kitchen and found the freezer full of frozen food. The refrigerator wasn’t much better. Longingly, she glanced towards the clock and then the phone. What had Jonathan cooked for breakfast? How late was her mom running for work? How did Will take the news? She reached for the phone, but dropped her hand almost instantly. She couldn’t call. What if her mom answered? What if Jonathan answered? Defeated, she gave up on that idea. It was too risky.

She was there on a mission. She didn’t have time to wallow in self-pity...but home sickness hit her hard then, and tears welled up in her eyes before she could stop them. 

***

Hopper’s office down at the precinct was more of a closet, than an office. There was enough room to hold a desk, a shelf, a chair, and not much else. Still, it was a place to call his own, and he had worked hard to get it.

Ignoring the paperwork that was piled high on his desk, he focused on the cluttered bookshelf. He pushed aside old books, dusty notepads, and broken equipment until his hands grazed across the well-worn leather bound photo album.

Haphazardly, he kicked the door shut with his foot. His hands trembled as he sat down behind his desk with a groan. A fine layer of dust covered the album, proving that he had left it alone for too long. He brushed the dust away with gentle finger tips.

To most people, work would be an odd place to keep such a personal thing, but Hopper wasn’t like most people. He flipped through the first few pages with practiced ease. It was a game he liked to play…with his heart. How fast could he flip through the photos before catching a glimpse of Joyce? Once he did catch a glimpse, how long would it take him to look away? Luckily, today was a good day. He was able to zoom right past their high school graduation, their wedding day and other big moments.

There was only one picture that he wanted to see, and his eyes zeroed in as soon as he found it. He popped the picture out of the sleeve and held it in the air. Jane, barely a year old, stared back at him. Her chubby cheeks were pressed into a wide smile. Her sister didn’t share the big dimples that indented her face, but he had never needed the distinctive feature to tell the girls apart. They were his. His girls. 

He swallowed hard as his fingers traced the edges of the fading picture. He had a lot of Jane as a baby, but this one…this one was his favorite. In her lap, sat a brightly colored stuffed tiger. He had won it as a prize at the Hawkins Summer Fair. After the fact, El could have cared less, but Jane had taken an instant liking to it. Hopper’s eyes watered as he remembered his baby girl…the one he had left behind. Did she have any memories of him? Did she hate him for leaving?

The early years, when he was a single father and the low man on the department totem pole, were lonely and excruciating. Keeping El safe was the only thing that kept him from sinking deep into a hole of depression. She was his priority. His only priority. He didn’t have time to dwell on the past. But, even still, he never forgot Jane…and he never would.

Clearing his throat, he slid the picture back into the album and toyed with the hair tie around his wrist. He had blamed Joyce for a while. He had blamed the lab for longer, but now…he only blamed himself and he wondered if some day, Jane would blame him too.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this took so long. I had SUCH bad block the past few months. Thanks for your support and nice comments, it really helped me get back into it. This chapter may feel like a filler...but it's a very important filler. We need Joyce this way. She's crucial.

In the middle of the night, El crept out of her room, only to find that she wasn’t alone in the barely lit hallway. “Jonathan?”

“What are you doing up?” 

“Getting a drink.” El crossed her arms and watched as he put his ear against Joyce’s bedroom door. “What are you doing?”

He ignored her for a few seconds so that he could continue listening. “Mom’s been having nightmares. I woke her up from one last night.” 

El tried to listen. She went completely still and even held her breath, but heard nothing but the late summer breeze whipping against the house. “What are the nightmares about?”

“She never tells me. Tonight, I thought…” Jonathan’s voice trailed off as he looked back towards the door with furrowed brows. “...I thought I heard her call out for someone.”

“Who?”

He sent a hand through his hair and shrugged his shoulders. “Ellie. But I don’t know who that could be.” 

El’s pulse sped up at the revelation. She dug her nails into her palms to keep her hands from shaking. “El...Ellie?” She stuttered. Why was her mother dreaming of her and…what was she dreaming about? 

“Jane? You okay?”

She let out a breath and tried to keep her cool, even as paranoid thoughts raced through her mind. How would Jane react? Jonathan was expecting Jane. She had to be Jane. “Yeah…I’m just…worried about her.”

“She hasn’t had nightmares like this in a long time, but she’ll be alright. We won’t let her get bad again.”

“Again?” The question was out of her mouth before she could stop it.

Jonathan shot her an incredulous look. “You know how she is when her anxiety gets bad…”

“I forgot.” El hoped her quick response would keep him from staring at her as if she were crazy. It worked, but only for a second.

“How could you forget? Did you get amnesia at summer camp?”

El let out an unnatural laugh. “Maybe.” 

Jonathan’s brows furrowed in confusion, and then he shook his head. “Whatever, “I’m going back to bed.” 

Once he was gone, El pressed her ear against the door again, but heard nothing. 

***  
When she wasn’t working long shifts at the store, Joyce kept herself busy by cleaning around the house. Night after night of persistent nightmares left her so exhausted that she had to keep moving or risk falling asleep. Luckily, unpacking Jane’s luggage and the laundry that came with it kept her busy. 

With the clothes neatly folded, Joyce went to put them away, but before she could, her hand scraped against something at the bottom of the drawer. Curiosity propelled her forward and she pulled out an old picture. Her eyes widened as the image came into focus. It was her and Jim Hopper...on their wedding day. 

It was a familiar photo, but not one that she was expecting to find. Her vision blurred as tears swam into her eyes. Her legs felt weak and her knees wobbled. She nearly slid to the floor, but Jane’s voice kept her upright. 

“Mom? Are you okay?” 

Joyce’s fingers tightened around the edges of the picture as she turned around. “Baby, where’d you get this?” 

“I, uh…” El struggled to find her words. “I found it.” It didn’t take her long to discover that her mother wasn’t an easy person to lie to. 

“Where?”

Her kind, inquisitive eyes, drilled into hers intensely and she had no choice but to tell her. “In a box.”   
“In a box, where?” 

El thought fast. “I don’t remember.” 

Joyce’s brows furrowed with skepticism. “Why’d you keep it?” 

This time, she didn’t have to lie. “I like to look at it sometimes. You both look so happy.” 

The temptation was strong, but Joyce wouldn’t let herself look down at the picture again. She couldn’t. Instead, she focused on Jane as a menacing feeling crept into her mind. It curled and pinched and prodded until her heart was banging against her chest. Something wasn’t right. Something was different. Her fears intensified as she watched the girl nibble at her fingernails. 

“I’m sorry, mom...I shouldn’t have kept it.” 

Joyce had to shake her head to get her thoughts under control. It took a lot of effort to muster up a smile. “No, no...that’s okay. You can keep it.” She handed the picture over with trembling fingers. “I’m gonna grab a quick shower, okay?” 

Nearly panicked herself, Jane watched her go and then dashed for the radio that Will had taught her how to use. She had to talk to her new friends about this. 

***  
Joyce didn’t get a shower. Her wobbly legs carried her into her room where she quietly locked herself inside. Jane was lying to her, she had no doubts about that, and she could prove it. It took her only a few seconds to dig out the box from under her bed. For years, it had sat there, dusty and forgotten, but she had been looking through it more and more lately. 

She had to flip through a dozen or so pictures of her past life before she found the wedding picture. Even with the knowledge that she would find it, her breath still hitched once she saw it. Joyce’s fingers brushed against her lips as she held in a sob. 

Only two copies of the picture existed. She had one…and Hopper had the other, she was sure of it, but the confidence didn’t last long. He couldn’t have it, if Jane got a hold of it. Could he? Violently, Joyce tossed the picture onto the ground. Nothing was making sense. Nothing felt right. She hadn’t felt this paranoid in a long time and she was worried...that she was losing her mind. 

 

***

“Mom, eat something,” advised Jonathan, the next morning. The toaster popped, and he risked burning his fingers in order to give her fresh toast. “It’s getting cold.”

Joyce puffed on her cigarette. “I’m not hungry.” Her gaze was focused on an unknown point. Will and Jane weren’t up yet, leaving her mind too much free time to wander.

“You didn’t eat dinner last night.”

Her thoughts were too jumbled to focus on what he was saying. Instead, she asked, “Do you think something’s wrong with Jane?”

“Wh...what?” stuttered Jonathan. Warily, he looked her over again, taking note of her shaking hands. “No. She’s fine.”

“No…she’s…I don’t know. She’s acting weird. Something’s going on…I can feel it. Has she said anything to you?” 

“No.” 

“Maybe something happened at camp...something she’s not telling me.” 

Jonathan’s brows knitted together as he studied his mother’s pale form. The nightmares, the heavy smoking, and the lack of eating…he had seen it all before, and it was never a good sign. “Mom…come on. You can’t get like this. She’s okay.” Hoping to still her movements, his hand went to her arm.

Joyce smothered the end of the cigarette into an old ceramic ashtray that had seen better days. “She’s not,” came her hurried whisper. “I’m telling you…”

Resolving himself to the fact that he was not going to win the argument, he gave in. “Okay.” He didn’t know what else to do. Her anxiety was like a roller coaster ride, one that was never ending. He longed to get off the ride, and he knew…that she did too. “We’ll figure it out. Just please eat something…you need to eat. Promise?”

Joyce swallowed hard as tears crept back into her eyes. Jonathan was so strong, stronger than her…and she didn’t know what she did to deserve such an amazing son. “I promise.” 

“Okay, good. I’m gonna go get Will and Jane up.” Hesitantly he left the kitchen and when he peaked around the corner a few minutes later, he was a bit relieved to find her nibbling on some toast.


End file.
